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Angelina Jolie behind case accusing Brad Pitt of assault on private jet

The actress is revealed as the plaintiff bringing an anonymous lawsuit against the FBI in which she alleges she was assaulted by Brad Pitt on a private plane.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt during happier times. Picture: AFP
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt during happier times. Picture: AFP

Angelina Jolie has been revealed as the plaintiff bringing an anonymous lawsuit against the FBI in which she alleges she was assaulted by Brad Pitt on a private plane.

The actress, 47, is said to have told an FBI agent that Pitt physically and verbally assaulted her and their son Maddox in 2016, the US website Puck reported, citing legal documents. Pitt’s team has denied all accusations against him.

Jolie’s representatives have not commented on the reports that she is behind the case, in which the complainant is referred to as Jane Doe. In April a US district judge refused a request to seal the contents of the lawsuit entirely.

According to Puck, a well-funded media start-up, Jolie’s lawyers filed an amended version of the complaint last week, asking why the FBI agent and chief of the criminal division of the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles decided not to pursue criminal charges against Pitt, 58.

In the amended complaint Jolie says she learnt about this after anonymously filing a freedom of information request for documents linked to the federal investigation of Pitt, whom she divorced in 2019.

Pitt and Jolie’s divorce has caused protracted legal disputes over custody of their six children: Maddox, 21; Pax,18; Zahara, 17; Shiloh, 16; Knox, 14, and his twin Vivienne. Picture” WireImage
Pitt and Jolie’s divorce has caused protracted legal disputes over custody of their six children: Maddox, 21; Pax,18; Zahara, 17; Shiloh, 16; Knox, 14, and his twin Vivienne. Picture” WireImage

Pitt allegedly grabbed Jolie by the shoulders and shouted: “You’re f***ing up this family”, according to the FBI agent’s notes.

The Puck article - written by a former legal editor of The Hollywood Reporter - added: “Later, during this same flight, another physical altercation allegedly took place, and Jolie said she sustained injuries; she gave the agent a photo of her elbow in an attempt to corroborate this. At another point, Jolie says Pitt poured beer on her.”

Pitt is alleged to have hit or physically restrained Maddox, then 15, when he tried to intervene in the confrontation with Jolie. Pitt’s team told People magazine: “He is emphatic that it did not reach the level of physical abuse, that no one was physically harmed. He did not hit his child in the face in any way. He did not do that; he is emphatic about that. He put his hands on him, yes, because the confrontation was spiralling out of control.” Pitt gave up drinking shortly after the incident.

According to Jolie’s complaint, citing freedom of information laws: “Ms Doe has been seeking the withheld information for [several] years in an effort to ensure that her children receive qualified . . . care and . . . counselling to address the harm suffered . . . Information withheld by DoJ and the FBI contains evidence of the harm.

Jolie, Maddox and Pitt arrive at the Academy Awards in 2013.
Jolie, Maddox and Pitt arrive at the Academy Awards in 2013.

“The persistent denial of that information to Ms Doe - a victim of the assault herself - has hampered, and continues to hamper, her efforts to obtain for her children necessary ongoing care and medical attention, and has further harmed the children in the family law system.”

Pitt and Jolie’s divorce has caused protracted legal disputes over custody of their six children: Maddox, 21; Pax, 18; Zahara, 17; Shiloh, 16; Knox, 14, and his twin Vivienne.

Pitt recently accused his ex-wife of forcing him to share his French winery with a British billionaire after Jolie set out to sell her stake in their vineyard. Pitt is seeking damages and the cancellation of the sale of Jolie’s share in the Chateau de Miraval vineyard, north of Brignoles in southern France.

The Times

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/angelina-jolie-behind-case-accusing-brad-pitt-of-assault-on-private-jet/news-story/dc7ac5ff80fac35115d9ebbeaca93152