In a cross complaint filed against Brad Pitt on Tuesday, Angelina Jolie detailed allegations of abuse she and her children allegedly suffered at the hands of her ex-husband.
As reported by The New York Times, Jolie made a court filing in Los Angeles this week as part of an ongoing legal battle pertaining to a winery she formerly owned with Pitt. It described a September 2016 incident, in which the two and their six children got into a heated argument on a private jet.
“Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face” and “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her,” the filing alleges. During the incident, Pitt reportedly “poured beer on Jolie” and “poured beer and red wine on the children.” Federal authorities investigated the incident, but criminal charges were not brought forth against Pitt.
Prior to the flight, Pitt is said to have “pulled” Jolie into a bathroom at the back of the plane. Per the suit, "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."
The dispute between the two started after Pitt accused her of being “too deferential” when it comes to their children. One of the children came to her defense, and Pitt allegedly attempted to get physical. "When one of the children verbally defended Jolie, Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him," the countersuit reads. "To get Jolie off his back, Pitt threw himself backwards into the airplane's seats injuring Jolie's back and elbow. The children rushed in and all bravely tried to protect each other."
Before the incident on the plane came to an end, some of the children “pleaded with Pitt to stop,” and were “all frightened” or “crying.” When they landed, Jolie informed her then-husband that she was taking their children to a nearby hotel. Her legal team alleged that he yelled at her again, and “pushed her down.”
Shortly after the plane trip, however, Jolie filed for divorce after five years of marriage. Additionally, an FBI agent investigated the incident and “concluded that the government had probable cause to charge Pitt with a federal crime for his conduct that day.”
“After reviewing the document, a representative of the United States Attorney’s Office discussed the merits of this investigation with the case agent,” a redacted FBI report on the alleged incident read when it surfaced online earlier this year. “It was agreed by all parties that criminal charges in this case would not be pursued due to several factors.”
In a statement provided to CNN, a representative for Pitt called the allegations “completely untrue.”
Lawyers for the actress-director said negotiations to sell her portion of the winery to her ex-husband broke down because he demanded she sign “a nondisclosure agreement that would have contractually prohibited her from speaking outside of court about Pitt’s physical and emotional abuse of her and their children.”
Pitt’s lawyer Anne Kiley said that he accepted responsibility for some of his actions during their marriage, but would not admit to doing things he didn’t do. The actor-producer filed a lawsuit against Jolie earlier this year in which he accused her of violating “contractual rights” by selling her half of the winery Château Miraval to a subsidiary of Stoli Group without consulting him first. Jolie’s countersuit states that she decided to sell her half elsewhere due to his nondisclosure agreement demands.
