Next month will mark the six-year anniversary of Angelina Jolie shocking the world by filing for divorce from Brad Pitt.
But despite being declared legally single in 2019, the exes are still no further in coming to a custody agreement for their kids — even as they reach college age.
“It appears that Angelina is determined that Brad should never get 50/50 custody,” one source familiar with the legal battle told The Post. “And there are some who say that she won’t rest until the kids are legally adults, so Brad will never have shared custody.”
It’s just the latest salvo in a seemingly never-ending war. “Angelina makes a constant stream of attacks on Brad. And she deliberately sold her disputed share of their vineyard to a buyer she knew he didn’t want,” a friend of Pitt believes.
Pitt, 58, has been on red carpet all over the world lately as he prepares to open his latest movie “Bullet Train,” this weekend, but he apparently can’t escape the long reach of Jolie.
Lawyers for Jolie reportedly arranged for process servers to attempt to serve Pitt with a subpoena at February’s SAG Awards.FilmMagicIn legal papers in June, Pitt, 58, claimed that Jolie, 47, intentionally “sought to inflict harm on” him by selling her interests of the Chateau Miraval wine brand to Russian businessman Yuri Shefler, the founder of Stoli Vodka.
Pitt said they had agreed to never sell their respective shares without the other’s permission. He also asked for a trial by jury.
“It’s his baby, he’s very proud of it and he’s put all of the revenue from the business into the vineyard and Miraval studios,” said a Hollywood friend, noting that the Correns, France, vineyard estate also boasts a recording studio.
Pitt has claimed in legal papers that Jolie intentionally “sought to inflict harm on” him by selling her interests of the Chateau Miraval wine brand to the founder of Stoli Vodka.“Unfortunately, Angelina sold her part, which was contrary to their agreement, to somebody they had both turned down before,” the friend added, as Pitt had previously said no to a deal with Stoli.
And then there was the recent news that lawyers for Jolie sent process servers to the SAG Awards in February, hoping to catch Pitt off-guard with a subpoena for Miraval matters at the event. (He did not attend.) This was another example of Jolie trying to create a public scene to exacerbate the situation, according to sources in the know.
In April, Page Six reported that Jolie had allegedly unleashed “a desperate fishing expedition” by suing the FBI under the name “Jane Doe” to find more about its investigation into an alleged 2016 private-jet altercation incident involving Pitt and their son Maddox, and why its agents didn’t charge the actor.
Chateau Miraval winery is based at the Correns, France, estate of the same name.Corbis via Getty ImagesAn anonymous call was made to authorities, which triggered the FBI investigation, which closed on Nov. 22, 2016, with no charges of wrongdoing. Days later, Jolie filed for divorce.
Page Six is also told that, behind he scenes, things became tense earlier this year when Pitt’s legal team believed that Jolie’s attorneys attempted to have their court-approved child psychologist sanctioned by the California Attorney General’s office based on her perception that the doctor had sided with Pitt, concluding that Pitt should have 50/50 custody of the kids.
Psychologist Stan Katz, who spoke to the Jolie-Pitt minor children for the custody case, is currently under a non-criminal investigation by California Attorney General’s office, per a filing submitted to the Superior Court of California and seen by Page Six.
“It appears that Angelina is determined that Brad should never get 50/50 custody” of their minor children, a source familiar with the legal proceedings said. Angelina hit the red carpet last year with Pax, 18; Vivienne, 14; Zahara, 17; Shiloh, 16; and Knox, 14.FilmMagicKatz is not believed to have had any complaints made about him in a 30-year career. A source close to Pitt described the report as “scathing” of Jolie.
Although another insider with knowledge of the issues had stressed that Jolie had nothing to do with the investigation, one highly-placed legal insider told Page Six that only one or both of the parties involved in the case could make a complaint. A friend of Pitt’s confirmed it was not the actor.
The filing noted that: “The Court finds the Petitioner (Jolie) has filed a notice of non-opposition and Respondent (Pitt) has taken no position.”
Katz declined to comment. We reached out to the AG’s office. The scope of the investigation is not known, and it’s unclear whether the investigation is still ongoing.
Jolie allegedly sued the FBI under the name “Jane Doe” to find more about its investigation into an alleged 2016 private-jet altercation involving Pitt and their son Maddox.WireImageAfter years of back and forth, Pitt was granted joint custody of his minor children in May 2021, as Page Six revealed.
Judge John Ouderkirk however, was subsequently disqualified from the case for not sufficiently disclosing business relationships with Pitt’s attorneys — so it was back to square one, and the exes are still fighting it out for custody.
Another source familiar with the case revealed: “Everything is at a standstill. Last year was a real rollercoaster. Brad was given 50/50 custody in a lengthy, detailed judicial decision. Then the appellate court vacated the decision based on something having nothing to do with the substance of the case.
“It was an internal dispute between the judges and the private judges in California, nothing to do with the custody agreement. It was a technicality. It’s unclear where things stand right now.”
Last year, a judge in their divorce case was disqualified for not revealing business dealings with Pitt’s attorneys — slowing their custody case even further.Pascal Le SegretainMeanwhile, Pitt is not believed to be close to his and Jolie’s oldest child, son Maddox, who turned 21 on Friday.
Asked how often the actor gets to see the other children, the source familiar with the case said: “He gets to see them, but he still doesn’t have 50/50. But he’s trying to ride it out.”
Both Jolie and Pitt’s reps were unavailable for comment.
The exes have six kids. Maddox currently studies biochemistry at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Pax, 18, is believed to be continuing with his schooling, and 17-year-old Zahara is about to go off to Spelman College.
Pitt said this week he’s thrilled about daughter Zahara’s acceptance to Spelman College.Getty Images for TurnerJolie announced in an Instagram post that Zahara will be attending the historically Black college in Atlanta this fall.
“Zahara with her Spelman sisters!” The “Eternals” star captioned an image of her daughter surrounded by fellow Spelman students.
Daughter Shiloh, 16, showed off her hip-hop dance moves moves back in June in a now viral clip set to Doja Cat’s “Vegas.”
Sources say that, while Pitt has gone on dates since the split, he’s not dating right now.Getty ImagesPitt joked about it at the “Bullet Train” premiere: “I don’t know where she got it from. I’m Mr. Two-Left-Feet here.” He also said that Zahara’s acceptance to college “brings a tear to the eye.”
It’s a new side of the Oscar winner, who also shares 14-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox with Jolie, as he has previously been so protective about his kids he rarely talked about them.
Pitt has been on the promo trail for “Bullet Train,” traveling to Paris, Berlin and London over the past month.
In Germany, the actor hit the red carpet wearing a skirt that he co-designed with Haans Nicolas Mott.
Pitt has been promoting his new film, “Bullet Train.”Getty Images for Sony PicturesWhen asked why he wore the skirt, Pitt told Variety: “I don’t know! We’re all going to die, so let’s mess it up.”
The Hollywood friend said the answer is simple: “Brad travels regularly, but this was his first major event for a few years and he had a lot of fun with it.”
But “fun” doesn’t mean romance right now. Pitt is “not currently dating anyone,” said the Hollywood friend. “He’s gone on dates over the past couple of years, but he’s not dating anyone currently.”
Instead, Pitt is spending time on his art, architecture and hanging out with friends. He will appear in the Damien Chazelle–directed drama “Babylon” with Margot Robbie and Olivia Wilde, which opens on Christmas Day.
“He’s in a good place,” said the Hollywood friend. “He had a good break in Europe. He seems refreshed and relaxed.”
