LOS ANGELES — A court filing on Tuesday from Angelina Jolie alleges that on the flight of 2016, Brad Pitt grabbed her by the neck and shook her, then choked on one child, and hit another as they tried for her protection.
The accusations of abuse during the private plane were revealed in an inter-complaint Jolie submitted in the couple’s fight over the French home and winery that they owned together, which is distinct from their divorce proceeding that she filed shortly after.
A spokesperson for Pitt who was not permitted to speak in public, strongly dismissed Jolie’s allegations, calling the allegations “another repeat that is only harmful to Pitt’s family.”
Reports of the abuse aboard the plane were first made public just after the flight but initial reports were vague and specifics were not disclosed in divorce papers and investigation by authorities like the FBI along with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, both of which concluded that the actions against Pitt was required.
A judge granted Pitt fifty percent custody over the children following an in-person trial where the allegations were discussed. However, an appeals court later dismissed the private judge for failing to disclose possible conflicts of interests following an appeal by Jolie and thereby invalidating the ruling.
The details of the allegations surfaced earlier in the year when an Angelina Jolie lawsuit filed against the FBI in connection with an Freedom of Information Act request was released to the public.
The New York Times first published the court filing.
The document states that on September. 14 the 14th of September, 2016 Jolie, Pitt and their six children were on their way from Chateau Miraval, the winery Chateau Miraval in France, in France, to Los Angeles.
“Pitt’s aggression began long before the family reached the airport and ended with Pitt getting into a fight against one child. As the plane began to take off Jolie came up to Pitt and inquired about why he was acting this way,” the filing says. “Pitt said she was too respectful to children and verbally abused her.”
Then, the report says, “He pulled her into the bathroom and started yelling at her. Pitt held Jolie with his head, shook her. He then she grabbed her shoulders and shaken her once more before pushing her against the wall of the bathroom.”
One of the kids, aged between 8 and 15 in the moment, allegedly defended Jolie in the lawsuit that they did, and Pitt hit back.
“Pitt was threatening his child, and Jolie took him by the back in order to stop the attack. To lift Jolie away from her back Pitt fell backwards onto the seats of the airplane, causing injury to Jolie’s elbow and back,” the filing says. “The children rushed into the plane and all fought to shield one another. After the incident was over Pitt was able to choke one of the children , and hit another with his face.”
The documents states that he then had a beer mug on Jolie as well as poured red wine and beer on the children.
Jolie’s account of his flight in a letter to FBI investigators over the weeks that were following. The account was included in a classified report, which was that was later released by the FBI.
It also showed an elbow injury on Jolie’s side as well as it also included a “rug-burn kind of accident” to her right hand. In the letter, she stated that she’d seen Pitt drink between two and three drinks, but that Pitt seemed to be lucid and not drunk.
The investigators had a meeting with federal prosecutors “It was agreed among all parties that the criminal charges in this case were not taken up due to various reasons,” the report says.
An FBI statement stated that it had “conducted an examination of the facts and won’t conduct any further investigation.”
The 47-year old Oscar-winning actress as well as director Jolie and the actor, 58, who won the Oscars Pitt were one of the most well-known couples in Hollywood for the past 12 years.
They were romantically involved for more than a decade prior to their were married in 2014. Jolie had filed for divorce in the year 2016, and the judge declared them to be single in the year 2019. The divorce proceedings have not yet been resolved as custody and financial issues are remaining in dispute.
