 "Brad Pitt wants to see his ex-wife Angelina Jolie’s private messages. Here's why")
Hollywood star Brad Pitt wants access to his ex-wife Angelina Jolie’s private messages. The actors, who split in 2016, are engaged in a legal battle over their French winery.
Ahead of the trial, the F1 star has reportedly filed a motion in a court in the United States to obtain Jolie’s texts. But why does Brad Pitt want his ex-wife’s private messages? What is the case?
We will explain.
The legal battle between Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are involved in an ugly court battle over their French winery Château Miraval.
The duo had bought Château Miraval together in 2008. Two years after marriage, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016. The Fight Club actor held his share of the winery in a company called Mondo Bongo. The Maleficent star kept her shares in a company named Nouvel.
As per Us Weekly, Jolie said in 2021 that she wanted to sell her shares in the French winery, leading to Pitt and his team offering $55.4 million for her stake.
In February 2022, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star sued Jolie for selling her shares in the winery to Stoli Group. He claimed she went ahead with the sale without his approval, which was required. Pitt called the move a “vindictive” attempt to get back at him during their bitter divorce.
As per the Bullet Train actor, he and his ex-wife began negotiations so he could purchase her out. But the talks fell apart after they began fighting over the custody of their six children — Maddox Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox.
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More Shorts“In the summer of summer of 2021, amid a heated child custody dispute with Pitt, Jolie terminated those discussions and secretly purported to sell a 50 per cent stake in the family home and family business to Tenute del Mondo,” Pitt’s legal team alleged. “Tenute del Mondo is part of the Russia-affiliated spirits conglomerate Stoli Group, which is owned and controlled by billionaire Yuri Shefler. Shefler, who has been designated as an ‘oligarch in the Russian Federation’ by the US Treasury Department, had previously sought to buy Miraval, and Pitt had turned him down.”
Jolie filed a countersuit in September 2022, claiming Pitt had been “waging a vindictive war against” her since she filed for divorce.
The 50-year-old claimed that she pulled out of the deal due to Pitt trying to insert a non-disparagement clause to cover up his “years of abuse.” The 61-year-old Hollywood actor denied her allegations.
Why Brad Pitt wants Angelina Jolie’s texts
Brad Pitt filed a motion to obtain access to Angelina Jolie ’s private messages, which he believes could be crucial evidence in the legal battle over the French winery.
The legal documents obtained by Page Six reveal Pitt’s struggle to depose a man called Alexei Oliynik of Stoli Group. The actor claimed that in June, he “attempted to meet and confer” with Oliynik regarding the legal matter but has failed to make any progress.
In his document filed in the Superior Court of California, Pitt alleged that Oliynik, a Switzerland native, has “refused” to comply with the legal process, citing Switzerland’s “authority that foreign nationals cannot be made to travel to California for deposition.”
As per Us Weekly, Pitt claimed the man was aware of the negotiations with Jolie and her team. He asserted that the documents requested go “directly to his core claims” in the case.
A source close to the case tells Us, “this is another example of the defendant’s repeated opposition to sharing documents that would provide insight.”
“These requests go directly to key allegations about Pitt’s objections to the sale,” the actor’s legal team wrote in his filing, and “easily meet the standard for discoverability given Pitt’s allegations that Jolie acted with malice in selling to Stoli, a counterparty she knew Pitt opposed.”
Speaking to Page Six, a source familiar with Pitt’s legal situation said the filing is “not just about Alexei [Oliynik], it’s about Stoli [Group] as a whole.”
The insider claimed that Pitt’s hand “has been forced.” “Stoli has consistently chosen to avoid or challenge evidentiary court rulings,” a second source added. “They’ve been failing to comply with the typical legal process.”
The judge is yet to rule to Pitt’s request. A trial date is also not set for the former couple’s dispute over the winery.
With inputs from agencies
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