Brad Pitt has initiated legal proceedings seeking transparency from Angelina Jolie regarding the extent of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) she has had employees and third parties sign.
This move comes in the wake of Jolie's accusations against Pitt, claiming he sought to use such agreements to exert control over her amid ongoing negotiations concerning their shared assets and custody arrangements, PageSix reported.
The former couple, both Oscar-winning actors, have been entangled in a protracted legal dispute following their separation, encompassing issues related to their divorce, custody of their children, and ownership of their jointly held winery, Château Miraval.
Jolie recently escalated the situation with allegations that Pitt had physically abused her on multiple occasions, including an incident during a private flight in 2016, predating previously disclosed instances. Furthermore, she asserted that Pitt's insistence on her signing an NDA was a deliberate attempt to manipulate and constrain her during the divestiture discussions of their winery.
According to Jolie, this demand led her to reject Pitt's proposal to buy her stake in Château Miraval, opting instead to sell it to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021, a decision that reportedly incensed Pitt.
In response, Pitt's legal team filed a motion requesting Jolie to provide a detailed account of any NDAs she might have mandated for her personal staff or any third parties. This information, they argue, is crucial for evaluating the credibility of Jolie's claims regarding the NDA Pitt proposed.
John Berlinski, Pitt's attorney, highlighted in the legal documents the potential relevance of NDAs signed by Jolie with her employees or any associates, particularly those involving her household or the care of their children. Berlinski contends that if Jolie had similarly enforced NDAs without a direct business necessity, it would undermine her portrayal of the agreement Pitt sought as excessively restrictive.
Legal documents presented to the court included a letter from April 2021 sent by Jolie's legal team, which contained a draft non-disparagement agreement proposed by Jolie. Additionally, a correspondence from her U.S. divorce attorneys, dated six months after her withdrawal from the sale of Miraval, allegedly suggested a broader NDA as part of the divorce proceedings.
Paul Murphy, representing Jolie, criticized Pitt's comparison of routine workplace NDAs to his alleged attempts to conceal abusive behavior as "shameful." Murphy's statement to Page Six underscored the distinction between commonplace employment-related NDAs and Pitt's alleged efforts to suppress details of his conduct.
In the latest development in the ongoing legal battle between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Jolie's attorneys have filed a new motion in court, alleging that Pitt was abusive toward her prior to a 2016 airplane incident. This incident has been previously cited as a turning point in their relationship, leading Jolie to file for divorce. The allegations were made as part of the couple's continuing dispute over their French winery, Château Miraval.
According to the court documents filed on April 4, Jolie's legal team is seeking to unveil communications that purportedly show Pitt, 60, was unwilling to allow Jolie, 48, to sell her share of the winery unless she consented to a "more onerous" and "expansive" non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
The documents claim, "While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him."
A representative for Pitt declined to comment on these latest allegations. However, a source close to Pitt, familiar with the couple's litigation history, criticized the timing and content of these claims to PEOPLE, suggesting that they serve as a distraction from unfavorable legal decisions.
Jolie's legal team contends that their lawsuit regarding the winery could have been avoided had Pitt agreed to buy Jolie's share at the time of her offer. They argue that Pitt's refusal was based on his desire for Jolie to sign an NDA, fearing that confidential documents from their custody battle might become public.
Jolie's attorneys assert that Pitt sought to "contractually bind" Jolie to silence regarding his "personal misconduct," extending beyond the scope of Miraval. On the other hand, a June 2023 filing from Pitt's attorneys claims that Jolie proposed a broader non-disparagement clause, with Pitt's team responding with a narrower version intended to protect the business interests of Miraval.
This ongoing legal dispute has seen both sides present different perspectives on the necessity and scope of an NDA. Sources from Pitt's camp have described the non-disparagement clause as standard for business transactions, while Jolie's representatives argue that Pitt's insistence on the NDA was an attempt to silence her about alleged abuse.
Murphy, Jolie's attorney, stated, "Mr. Pitt refused to purchase Ms. Jolie’s interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA. By refusing to buy her interest but then suing her, Mr. Pitt put directly at issue why that NDA was so important to him and what he hoped it would bury: his abuse of Ms. Jolie and their family."
The lawsuit filed by Pitt in 2022 against Jolie and her former company, Nouvel, for selling her half of the winery without his approval, has brought to light the complexities of their post-divorce negotiations. Pitt alleges that Jolie's sale of her stake to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group owned by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, compromised the winery's reputation.
As both legal teams prepare for the possibility of a trial, sources maintain that Jolie is being forced to defend herself due to Pitt's lawsuit, which might compel her to use evidence related to the allegations if the case proceeds to trial.
