Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were married for just two years before the actress filed for divorce in 2016. The subsequent War of the Roses lasts much longer and is far from decided. In court documents, Jolie details how her ex allegedly assaulted her and the family.

US actor Brad Pitt is said to have slapped one of his children in the face and choked another during an argument with Angelina Jolie on a private plane – at least this is what his ex-wife alleges in documents she submitted to a US court on Tuesday submitted. The former Hollywood dream couple is embroiled in a protracted separation battle over custody of their six children and their assets.

In the court documents filed in Los Angeles, from which US media quoted extensively, Hollywood star Jolie describes Pitt’s outburst during the family’s flight from California to France in September 2016. “Pitt choked one of the children and punched another face,” says the New York Times in the documents. He is said to have grabbed Jolie’s head and shook her. During the argument he is also said to have poured beer on Jolie, then he is said to have poured beer and red wine on the children.

The argument began when Pitt told Jolie she was “too subservient” to the children. He then allegedly grabbed Jolie, shook her and pushed her against the wall. When one of the children verbally defended Jolie, Pitt pounced on his own child. Jolie tried to stop him, as did the other children, and everyone tried to protect each other, the court documents said. “Everyone was afraid. Many cried.”

Investigators had investigated an incident on board an airplane in autumn 2016, but without publishing any details about it. In November of that year, the FBI announced that the investigation into Pitt had been dropped. Charges were not brought.

Jolie filed for divorce just days after the flight. In the years that followed, the two stars fought over custody of their six children – three biological and three adopted. It’s also about assets, notably a French winery that the two bought together. Pitt has accused Jolie of selling her interest in the property to a third party without his consent. Jolie responded to this with her so-called counterclaim. In the course of the negotiations, Pitt asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, as reported by the New York Times. The actress should have pledged not to speak publicly about Pitt’s abuse of her or their children.

(This article was first published on Wednesday, October 05, 2022.)