Angelina Jolie is ‘prepared to provide proof of domestic abuse’ in her divorce trial against ex Brad Pitt, new reports have claimed.
Documents obtained by The Blast reportedly show the actress, 45, has stated she is willing to offer ‘proof and authority’ in support of alleged domestic violence that occurred during her two year marriage to the star, 57.
The couple share kids, Maddox, 19, Zahara, 16, Pax, 17, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12, and are hashing out custody and financial arrangements in the trial, which will see their youngest children provide testimony if they give permission.
Soon after the couple filed for divorce in 2016, it was revealed that Brad was being investigated by the FBI and social services in LA amid reports he got ‘verbally abusive and physical with his children’ on a private jet yet he was cleared.
A source told MailOnline: ‘She has made similar allegations in the past which were investigated by the authorities and not substantiated.’
Shock: Angelina Jolie is ‘prepared to provide proof of domestic abuse’ in her divorce trial against ex Brad Pitt, new reports have claimed
The source added: ‘This is the latest sad and desperate attempt to advance a false narrative at any cost.
‘These have been the same attacks repeated for the past 4 ½ years and anyone who is perceived to be standing in the way can expect to have their credibility challenged.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for the couple for comment.
After the 2016 incident, Brad was cleared of abuse allegations by the LA County Department Of Children And Family Services, as it was confirmed he had not committed child abuse when he got into a fight with Maddox aboard a private jet.
As well as detailing her domestic abuse claims, the documents show that the court is seeking permission from the couple for Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne to testify.
In October, the bitter divorce battle hit yet another bump in the road after the actress parted ways with one of her high-priced attorneys.
Priya Sopori, an LA-based former federal prosecutor who has been working with Jolie’s lead lawyer, Samantha DeJean, is out after filing a ‘Notice of Withdrawal of Attorney of Record’ with LA Superior Court, DailyMail.com has learned.
Sopori is a partner with California law firm Greenberg Glusker LLP. It is not known whether Jolie – who is fighting Pitt’s efforts to win 50/50 custody of their children – fired Sopori or if the attorney made the decision to quit.
Her kids: The couple share kids, Maddox, 19, Zahara, 16, Pax, 17, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12
But the change in her high profile team at this late stage signals Jolie’s resolve to get what she wants has only hardened.
A source close to Jolie told DailyMail.com: ‘Angelina has fought tooth and nail to get what she wants in this divorce, when it comes to her kids she won’t back down…
‘She’s paying her legal team a fortune, so if she believes one of her lawyers needs to go she won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.’
It’s not the first time the Girl, Interrupted star has parted company with a lawyer she’s hired during the long-running five year divorce saga.
In 2018, superstar LA divorce attorney Laura Wasser – whose client list reads like a Who’s Who of Hollywood – stopped working for Jolie when the actress’s legal fight with Pitt, 56, reportedly became too ‘venomous and nasty.’
Hashing out: As well as detailing her domestic abuse claims, the documents show that the court is seeking permission from the couple for Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne to testify
Wasser – who has represented Johnny Depp, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Reynolds, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Ashton Kutcher and many other stars – has earned a reputation as a lawyer who tries to take the sting out of break-ups by promoting compromise between warring couples and shared custody of children.
So it was thought at the time that Jolie’s hard-nosed attitude toward Pitt was not a good fit with Wasser’s more gentle, conciliatory approach.
After Wasser, Jolie hired San Francisco-based DeJean who is now the only lawyer representing her in the long-running custody dispute with Pitt.
The former couple are dragging security experts from two continents, an entourage of personal assistants and bodyguards, a former Jolie co-star and an army of child psychologists and doctors to give evidence in an upcoming custody trial that’s expected to be held in private.
One witness will be domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette, who controversially clashed with a prosecutor in a 2013 murder trial by describing killer Jodi Arias as the victim of abuse (pictured in 2009)
Lists of witnesses filed in a Los Angeles court and seen by DailyMail.com reveal 21 people who will be testifying in the movie stars’ legal fight over their children, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. They have a sixth child, Maddox, but he’s a 19 year-old adult.
One witness will be domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette, who controversially clashed with a prosecutor in a 2013 murder trial by describing killer Jodi Arias as the victim of abuse.
Brad has also listed his ex-wife’s personal assistant Michael Ofstedahl and Jolie’s friend and Girl, Interrupted costar Jillian Armenante as witnesses – a sign that Pitt is willing to pull out all the stops to win joint custody.
Pitt and Jolie famously fell in love on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. The couple married in France in 2014 after 10 years of dating, but split two years later in September 2016.
Angelina pictured with their children (l-r): Knox, Vivienne, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara and Maddox in 2019
In the period that followed their initial separation in 2016, the pair duked it out over custody and financial arrangements, with Brad arguing he’d provided more than adequate funding but Angie demanding a greater share of his $300m fortune.
A big factor in the couple’s battle is Jolie’s desire to move the children abroad.
Pitt, is vehemently opposed to her moving them to a foreign country.
In 2019, Angelina admitted: ‘I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18. Right now, I’m having to base where their father chooses to live.’
In June 2019, Brad – who admitted being an alcoholic at the time of their split but is now recovered – secured a legal breakthrough when a judge ruled he would be permitted more time with the children. He is believed to see them every few days.
Then: In early April last year, the superstars came to an agreement that will see the children attend a more traditional schooling program in LA
The kids are shuttled back and forth in blacked-out SUVs and limousines between their parents’ LA homes, which are around a mile from one another in the affluent suburb also inhabited by star including Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and Zac Efron.
In early April last year, the superstars came to an agreement that will see the children attend a more traditional schooling program in LA, marking an end to their homeschooling regime. Jolie said she stands by her choice to leave Pitt.
‘It was the right decision,’ the actress told Vogue in June 2020.
‘I continue to focus on their (the kids’) healing. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds.’
The custody trial was due to start late last year but it was delayed after Angelina asked for the private judge to be replaced, claiming that he ‘failed to disclose’ that he was working other cases with one of Brad’s lawyers.
