Current:Home > ScamsBrad Pitt seeks dismissal of Angelina Jolie's request for messages about plane incident -Wealth Momentum Network
Brad Pitt seeks dismissal of Angelina Jolie's request for messages about plane incident
Fastexy View
Date:2025-04-10 07:56:30
Brad Pitt is putting up a fight in court in his ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
Pitt, who has been contesting the financial handling of the former couple’s winery Château Miraval, filed a motion to dismiss Jolie’s request for his private communications in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. The communications include messages regarding a family plane trip in 2016, in which Pitt allegedly attacked Jolie and their children.
“These private, third-party communications are far removed from the issues and allegations in this case, and in many cases, they have nothing but the most tenuous relationship to ‘what happened on that plane,’” the filing reads, according to court documents obtained Tuesday by USA TODAY.
“Jolie, however, wants them anyway as part of her efforts to turn this business dispute into a re-litigation of the former couple’s divorce case.”
Jolie’s April motion relates to a nondisclosure agreement that her team claims Pitt wanted her to sign as a condition of buying her Miraval shares. The “Maleficent” star’s attorney also accused Pitt of “unrelenting efforts to control and financially drain” her, as well as “attempting to hide his history of abuse, control and coverup."
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
However, Pitt has slammed Jolie’s request, with his attorneys calling the motion a “sensationalist fishing expedition,” which consists of “54 requests seeking wide-ranging and intrusive discovery into some of the most deeply personal aspects of her ex-husband’s life.”
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Jolie for comment.
Brad Pitt says he agreed to ‘show everything’ that occurred on 2016 plane ride
Pitt and Jolie's dispute over the winery escalated in 2022 when Jolie opened up about abuse she and her children allegedly suffered at the hands of her ex-husband on a flight.
In an October 2022 filing, Jolie's lawyers alleged Pitt "grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall," during a flight from the Chateau Miraval winery in France to California. Pitt was also accused of getting violent with some of his children during the altercation.
Pitt and Jolie share six children — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Vivienne and Knox — who were between 8 and 15 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
In Thursday’s filing, Pitt’s attorneys allege Pitt “voluntarily offered to produce documents sufficient to show everything that occurred on the flight that precipitated the ex-couple’s divorce.”
Angelina Jolie takes legal action:Actress claims ex Brad Pitt had 'history of physical abuse'
But the actor’s legal team said the scope of Jolie’s motion extends beyond the details of their family trip.
“If Jolie’s requests were really about ‘what happened on that plane’ as she claims, Pitt’s offer should have sufficed,” the filing reads.
“Jolie, however, rejected Pitt’s compromise and moved to compel his communications with third parties — including his most trusted advisors — about such sensitive issues as the therapy he voluntarily undertook after the flight incident in an effort to better himself, ‘drug and alcohol testing’ he has allegedly undergone, his alleged ‘overuse or abuse of alcohol’ and other actions taken in the aftermath of the flight.”
In September 2016, reports emerged of Pitt being under investigation by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services for the in-flight altercation.
Two months later, the FBI confirmed to USA TODAY that the agency had reviewed the allegations and dropped its investigation, and the actor was not charged (he was also cleared of child abuse allegations by the LA County Department of Children and Family Services).
Angelina Jolie’s motion infringes on Brad Pitt’s privacy rights, lawyers say
Pitt’s attorneys claim the communications requested in Jolie’s motion would be a “serious intrusion into Pitt’s privacy rights” under the California constitution, which “protects non-conviction law enforcement records, medical records, drug testing and substance abuse treatment, Pitt’s married life and the termination thereof.”
The Oscar-winning actor’s motion also addresses Jolie’s issue with the NDA that halted the former couple’s Miraval negotiations. The agreement included a “commitment not to denigrate Miraval Provence and its direct and indirect shareholders, including (Pitt).” However, both Jolie and Pitt would have been free to make claims about each other in their legal proceedings, such as their divorce and child custody cases.
'Like a petulant child':Brad Pitt accused of 'looting' winery assets in legal battle
Although Jolie later described the NDA as a “callous and mean-spirited demand” amid her divorce from Pitt, his team claims the actress’s information requests wouldn’t “discover relevant evidence” in explaining the NDA proposal but instead “embarrass Pitt.”
“Jolie cannot meet her burden to show that the relevance of the documents she seeks outweighs Pitt’s countervailing privacy interests — particularly given the publicity surrounding the parties and this case,” the filing reads.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
veryGood! (19)
Related
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- Opinion: It's more than just an NFL lawsuit settlement – Jim Trotter actually won
- Back-to-back hurricanes reshape 2024 campaign’s final stretch
- Third-party candidate Cornel West loses bid to get on Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- 'Need a ride?' After Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit this island, he came to help.
- SEC, Big Ten flex muscle but won't say what College Football Playoff format they crave
- Days of Our Lives Star Drake Hogestyn's Cause of Death Revealed
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Reba McEntire's got a friend in Carole King: Duo teamed on 'Happy's Place' theme song
Ranking
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Bachelor Nation's Joey Graziadei Shares How Fiancée Kelsey Anderson Keeps Him Grounded During DWTS
- Lake blames Gallego for border woes, he vows to protect abortion rights in Arizona Senate debate
- Here's the difference between a sore throat and strep
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Climate change gave significant boost to Milton’s destructive rain, winds, scientists say
- 50 pounds of 'improvised' explosives found at 'bomb-making laboratory' inside Philadelphia home, DA says
- If you mute Diddy songs, what about his hits with Mary J. Blige, Mariah, J. Lo and more?
Recommendation
South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
'It's gone': Hurricane Milton damage blows away retirement dreams in Punta Gorda
What happened between Stephen and Monica on 'Love is Blind'? And what is a sleep test?
Tigers ready to 'fight and claw' against Guardians in decisive Game 5 of ALDS
Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
Alaska US Rep. Peltola and Republican opponent Begich face off in wide-ranging debate
Sean “Diddy” Combs to Remain in Jail as Sex Trafficking Case Sets Trial Date
How many points did Bronny James score tonight? Lakers-Bucks preseason box score