Brad Pitt Calls Out "Personal Attack" After Angelina Jolie Accuses Him of Abuse

Brad Pitt called out "misrepresentation" of his character after his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, accused him of choking one of their children shortly before she filed for divorce in 2016.

By Gabrielle Chung Oct 06, 2022 9:19 PMTags
Watch: Brad Pitt Calls Out "Personal Attack" Amid Angelina Jolie Allegations

Brad Pitt is addressing allegations of abuse recently brought up by his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie.

On Oct. 4, Jolie filed a response to the Bullet Train star's lawsuit over their once-shared winery, alleging in a cross complaint that Pitt—who is dad their kids Maddox, 21, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16, and 14-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox"choked one of the children and struck another in the face" during an international flight in 2016.

The alleged incident led the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services and FBI the launch their own investigations, though both cases has since been closed without any charges filed against Pitt.

Now, the actor is responding to the claims brought forth by Jolie's new legal filing. His attorney, Anne Kiley, said in a statement to E! News on Oct. 6, "Brad has owned everything he's responsible for from day one—unlike the other side—but he's not going to own anything he didn't do. He has been on the receiving end of every type of personal attack and misrepresentation."

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Kids Through the Years

"Thankfully, the various public authorities the other side has tried to use against him over the past six years have made their own independent decisions," Kiley continued. "Brad will continue to respond in court as he has consistently done."

E! News has reached out to Jolie's rep for comment but hasn't heard back.

The former couple were married for almost five years until 2019, when a judge declared them legally single amid their divorce proceedings.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Pitt is currently suing Jolie for allegedly selling her interests in their French winery, Chateau Miravel, without his consent. 

In Jolie's latest response to the lawsuit, obtained by E! News, the Eternals star said she and Pitt got into a dispute on Sept. 14, 2016, while flying back from France to Los Angeles with their family. She claimed in the countersuit that Pitt accused her of being "too deferential" to their kids, prompting one child to speak out in her defense.

"When one of the children verbally defended Jolie, Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him," the document read. "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."

In addition to alleging that Pitt got physical with two of their children, Jolie said in the filing that the actor screamed at her and "pushed her down yet again" when the plane landed. The actress filed for divorce days after the alleged incident.

"Coming on top of the traumatic breakup of their family and the years spent trying to heal their family—during which time she never spoke publicly about the events that led to their separation—Jolie could not take any more abuse," the cross complaint read. "In an effort to preserve her own mental health and well-being, Jolie decided to turn over the negotiations to her designated representatives and let them decide how best to finalize any sale."

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