Angelina Jolie alleges that, her ex–life partner, Brad Pitt tried to bully her into signing an $8.5 million agreement for her to never talk about the alleged abuse. An explosive allegation part of the ongoing legal battle between the former couple over the ownership of their French winery, Château Miraval.
According to Jolie, the NDA was a product of Pitt’s anger over the accusations against him for domestic violence which she alleges happened during the 2016 private plane incident. The event had previously been investigated by both the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services but did not yield any charges.
Angelina Jolie is accusing Brad Pitt of trying to force her to sign an $8.5 million NDA to ‘silence’ her allegations of abuse, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. PIC.TWITTER.COM/ABBDJDQWNT
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The Château Miraval battle began when Jolie sold her interest in the winery to a third party without including Pitt or his people. He said that this sale, which handed control of the majority stake to a Russian oligarch, was contrary to his wishes and now puts his business at risk. According to Jolie, Pitt filed legal action over her sale in what seems like payback for her rejecting the NDA, which she believed was designed to keep her quiet about previous allegations of abuse.
Jolie further goes on to accuse Pitt of demanding an NDA because he wants her to keep silent over the alleged abuse. Her basic accusation is that this legal wriggling of his is not only in respect to, specifically, the sale of the winery but a gagging and control of narrative exercise relating to their troubled relationship.
The abuse allegations date back as far as 2016 during an incident on a private plane. According to Jolie, during this flight, Pitt verbally and physically assaulted her and the children. The accusations were so grave that, shortly after the incident, Jolie filed for divorce. While the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services investigated this case, they did not find it necessary to press charges. Nevertheless, these allegations have once more emerged in the wake of ongoing legal battles between the estranged couple.
Nothing came of it for Brad Pitt after all investigations by the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services. Abusive allegations, however, are only one of the myriad sticking points in continued legal battles between Jolie and Pitt over the NDA and sale of Château Miraval.
In their defence, Pitt’s legal team said it was standard business practice for the NDA to protect sensitive financial information and the winery brand from Jolie, and not to silence the actress or cause suppression of issues of a personal nature. Such claims are just to orchestrate red herrings from the real legal issues at stake surrounding the selling of the winery, they said.
