Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie battle over French vineyard
Legal experts May Mailman and Bryan Rotella weigh in on the Brangelina feud over the sale of French vineyard stakes involving a Russian oligarch on Fox News @ Night.
The ongoing legal battle between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt continues to heat up. Jolie accuses Pitt of forcing her to sign an $8.5 million non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to "silence" her allegations of abuse.
In court documents filed July 25 and obtained by Fox News Digital, Jolie’s attorneys argued the "Maleficent" star and their children were "victims of Pitt’s purportedly ‘private’ abuse and cover-up."
Jolie recently demanded Pitt hand over third-party communications relating to a 2016 plane incident. Jolie and Pitt allegedly had a physical altercation on the plane, and the actress filed for divorce shortly after.
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Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. (Getty Images)
In 2022, Pitt sued Jolie after the "Tomb Raider" star sold her stake in Château Miraval, the former couple’s French winery, and requested a judge declare the sale "null and void."
In the court documents, Jolie’s legal team argued she "was not acting with malice and the intent to hurt Pitt in response to any custody ruling" when she sold her share of Miraval in 2021.
"Instead, it was Pitt who refused to buy her interest unless he received his newly expanded NDA, enforceable by an $8.5 million holdback specifically designed to force her silence about his abuse and cover-up," the court documents stated.
A source close to Jolie further commented to Fox News Digital about the latest filing.
Angelina Jolie accuses ex Brad Pitt of attempting to "silence" her with an $8.5 million non-disclosure agreement after allegations of abuse. Pitt disputes the claims. (Getty Images)
"Brad Pitt’s insistence on an NDA to cover up his criminal conduct is unconscionable, and no abuse survivor should be coerced and forced into silence," the statement said.
"She never pressed charges, she left him all their properties and she is the one who tried to sell him the business in the first place. Yet he was not satisfied and still he sued her and continues to attack her in the press today. All she wants is peace and the ability to heal their family."
Pitt and Jolie share six children together — Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox and Vivienne.
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Pitt and Jolie share six children together — Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox and Vivienne. (Getty Images)
The "Bullet Train" actor disputed Jolie’s argument.
"This was a simple business dispute, but, sadly, this legal attack is just the latest example of them harming the entire family by making it personal," a source close to Pitt told Fox News Digital.
"The other side is desperately and repeatedly trying to do anything to distract from the fact that it was her — and not Brad — who requested an NDA about the divorce, a fact that completely undermines the legitimacy of their never-ending attacks."
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In court documents filed July 25 and obtained by Fox News Digital, Jolie’s attorneys argued the "Maleficent" star and their children were "victims of Pitt’s purportedly ‘private’ abuse and cover-up." (Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images I David M. Benett/Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/WireImage)
"They don't want anyone to focus on the fact that she deprived the kids of their inheritance of Miraval by breaching the agreement and selling it and taking the money."
The former couple bought a controlling stake in Château Miraval in 2008 and spent time at the home throughout their relationship. Jolie attempted to sell her company, Nouvel, to Tenute Del Mondo, a subsidiary of the Stoli Group, in 2021, effectively transferring her 50% ownership interest in Miraval. Pitt has fought this sale, claiming the move breached a contract between the two.
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Pitt and Jolie have been battling in court over their 17th-century French estate, Château Miraval. (Michel Gangne)
Jolie's company claimed Pitt has been the mastermind of a "vindictive campaign" to "loot" the profitable business since she first filed for divorce in 2016.
Nouvel accused Pitt of "hijacking" Château Miraval and "wasting" the company's assets on unnecessary renovation projects, including $1 million on swimming pool renovations, according to court documents previously obtained by Fox News Digital.
In March, the court rejected Jolie’s claim Pitt’s lawsuit was frivolous and malicious and gave the green light for a trial.
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Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhults and Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
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