Brad Pitt is struggling in the wake of a new legal filing from ex-wife Angelina Jolie, which details alleged domestic violence, an insider tells Us Weekly exclusively.
According to the source, the Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood actor, 57, believes Jolie’s latest filing is an attempt at “weaponizing their children in a last-ditch effort to gain a favorable outcome that will allow her to move the kids out of Los Angeles at her whim, without Brad’s approval or knowledge.”
Still, the insider says, “This process had taken a toll on Brad, and he has taken accountability for his role in the breakdown of the marriage.”
The source assures Us that Pitt “never” laid a hand on any of the children he and Jolie, 45, share, or her. The Oklahoma native fears this filing will weigh heavy on his children.
“The kids have had endured so much trauma and this is just piling it on, but it’s out of Brad’s control,” the insider says. “The time for compromise is over. He is done and won’t be manipulated by her ever again.”
On Friday, March 12, Jolie filed court documents stating that she and children Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12, were prepared to offer “proof and authority in support” of their claims against Pitt. Jolie agreed to provide her own testimony, along with the “testimony of minor children,” according to the documents obtained by Us.
A source close to Pitt told Us at the time the filing was little more than an attempt to “hurt” the actor, saying, “the children have been used by Angelina to hurt Brad before and this is more of that behavior. This leaking of documents by her fourth or fifth set of lawyers has been done to hurt Brad.”
Jolie and Pitt started dating after meeting on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2004. They separated in September 2016 after two years of marriage and were both declared legally single in April 2019. Their divorce has not yet been finalized, however.
The California native and Academy Award winner are still working on a custody agreement in regard to their brood. A source told Us in September 2020 that Pitt was seeking “50/50 physical and legal custody of the kids.”
He was able to spend Christmas Day 2020 with Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne after they spent “the night with him on Christmas Eve,” a source said in December. The entire family was supposed to spend the holiday together, however, a source said, “egos have once again derailed the original idea.”
With reporting by Jennifer Heger
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