Angelina Jolie pushes back as Brad Pitt seeks financial documents in winery legal battle

Angelina Jolie says Brad Pitt has misrepresented her claims as she opposes turning over years of financial records

Angelina Jolie has asked a California court to deny Brad Pitt's latest request for years of her financial records as their long running legal dispute over Château Miraval continues.

According to court documents filed on June 26 and reported by People, Jolie is opposing Pitt's attempt to obtain tax returns and other financial documents dating from 2017 through 2019. Pitt's legal team argued that Jolie had made her financial condition a central issue in the case and therefore her historical financial records were relevant.

Jolie's lawyers strongly disputed that characterisation. They argued that Pitt had repeatedly misrepresented her legal position by suggesting she claimed to be financially vulnerable following their separation. Instead, they said her filings have consistently focused on achieving financial independence from her former husband by separating their financial affairs after the breakdown of their marriage.

The filing states that the issue was never whether Jolie needed money. Instead, her legal team argued that she wanted to untangle her finances from what they described as her controlling and abusive former spouse. They maintained that this distinction is central to the case and that Pitt's interpretation is inaccurate.

Pitt's June 18 filing claimed Jolie had alleged financial vulnerability after their separation and argued that records relating to her earnings, including income and profit participation from film projects between 2017 and 2019, should therefore be disclosed. His lawyers pointed to her work on major productions during that period, including Maleficent and Eternals, arguing that the documents could challenge her previous claims.

Jolie's legal team responded that she has never alleged financial distress. Instead, they said she sought financial independence by separating herself from Pitt following their divorce proceedings. They also argued that she has already provided tax returns and profit participation statements for 2020 and 2021 despite believing she was not required to do so.

Her lawyers further contended that forcing her to produce earlier financial records would amount to a serious invasion of her privacy. They accused Pitt's legal team of relying on selective quotations and inaccurate paraphrasing rather than what had actually been pleaded before the court. The filing argues that discovery requests should be based on the legal claims as filed rather than interpretations designed to attract public attention.

The dispute remains part of the wider legal battle surrounding Château Miraval, the French winery the former couple once jointly owned. Pitt first sued Jolie in February 2022 after she sold her interest in the estate to a subsidiary of the Stoli Group. He alleged the sale breached an agreement that neither party would sell their share without the other's consent.

Jolie later filed a countersuit, accusing Pitt of waging what she described as a vindictive campaign against her after she filed for divorce in 2016. The legal fight has continued even after the former couple finalised their divorce settlement in December 2024.

Last month, Pitt secured a procedural victory when a California court allowed members of the Stoli Group to be questioned under oath regarding Jolie's sale of her stake in Château Miraval.