When a drunk Brad Pitt got into a fight with Angelina Jolie in September 2016 aboard a private plane traveling from Europe to Los Angeles, he became aggressive, both verbally and physically, in front of their six children.
This led to investigations by the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services. In an attempt to make the specifics of the alleged assault public, Angelina filed a lawsuit against the FBI and Department of Justice after the federal agency concluded its investigation without charging the 60-year-old.
She then quietly withdrew her case on September 25 and filed a request to dismiss the action with prejudice. She cannot refile her claim because the case is now permanently closed.
"Brad is taking this as a victory," a source told Star Magazine of the actor, eight years sober. "He's relieved the FBI file will remained sealed. He's disgusted by his past behavior but he refuses to take the rap for something he's long maintained isn't true."
In the end, the truth might not matter, however: Brad, the source said, "still lost his family he lost everything.”
Angelina dropped her lawsuit against the FBI but hasn't stopped making claims, E! Online reported. Angelina revealed details about what transpired on the plane in 2022 in a different court case involving the sale of her portion of their French estate and winery, Château Miraval. She claimed Brad "choked one of the children and struck another in the face."
According to her solicitors, he allegedly spilled alcohol on her and the children, then started "deriding Jolie with insults" and held her "by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall."
She claimed several children "pleaded with Pitt to stop." (He refuted the claims.) in a file from April 2024. She went on to say that "well before" the plane incident, the "Wolfs" star had physically abused her.
According to the insider, the purpose of her FBI lawsuit was to reveal the Oscar winner's violent past.
As the informant indicated, Angelina is distraught with the FBI for closing the case without telling her or charging Brad and for how they handled the investigation. She thought there was evidence that may lead to an indictment. His violent behavior is something she wants everyone to know.
This is why she has consistently turned down requests from Brad's team to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), the source said, adding that despite everything Angelina said about that awful night and made public, "nothing seems to tarnish Brad's reputation. It is infuriating to her."
According to the source, Brad feels some vindication now that Angelina's FBI lawsuit has been dismissed. He prays that his children will grow up to know that the FBI had solid cause not to press charges against him, Hindustan Times reported.
The acrimonious couple's protracted court dispute over their French vineyard remains unresolved after she sold her share of Château Miraval to a Russian millionaire instead of allowing Brad to buy her out, as he alleges they had agreed. He has been spending more time there lately with 34-year-old jewelry executive Ines de Ramon, his girlfriend of two years.
“He has a lot to keep him happy and motivated,” the source said. "He's sacrificed a lot al-ready. He doesn't want to lose another chance at happiness."
