Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt trade accusations as dispute over winery sale intensifies

Pitt's team calls it a "pattern of behavior", questions NDA terms in winery dispute.

Angelina Jolie's lawyers have alleged a history of abuse by Brad Pitt prior to the 2016 plane incident that sparked their divorce. 

The latest allegations surfaced during their ongoing legal dispute over the Château Miraval winery.  Jolie claims Pitt refused to buy her share unless she signed an extensive NDA.

"While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him," state Jolie's lawyers.

Pitt's representatives declined comment. A source close to Pitt calls this a "pattern of behavior" and highlights his successful 50/50 custody bid: "There was a lengthy custody trial that involved the entire history of their relationship and a judge who heard all the evidence still granted him 50/50 custody."

Jolie's team asserts the winery lawsuit stemmed from Pitt's refusal to buy her share without an NDA. They suggest Pitt feared the release of sealed custody battle documents.  "Jolie’s sealed filing, which included emails, summaries of the family’s expected testimony and other evidence, caused Pitt to fear that the information could eventually become public," her lawyers write.

Pitt's team counters that Jolie proposed a broader non-disparagement clause. They presented a narrower one focused on the business, explicitly allowing testimony in divorce/custody proceedings: “This commitment shall however not limit the ability, for any Party, to make any claims, filings or testimony in any legal proceedings.”

Pitt sued Jolie in 2022 for selling her winery share without his approval, claiming it damaged his carefully built brand. In October 2022, Jolie's team referenced the 2016 plane incident, prompting a Pitt source to call it a rehashed, untrue narrative. Pitt was never charged after an investigation into the flight allegations.

Jolie's attorney states: "Mr. Pitt refused to purchase Ms. Jolie’s interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA... his abuse of Ms. Jolie and their family."  A Jolie source maintains she's only raising these issues in self-defense due to Pitt's lawsuit.