Angelina Jolie's Lawyers Say Brad Pitt's 'Abuse' Began Before 2016 Plane Incident

In a recent court filing, Angelina Jolie's lawyers asserted that Brad Pitt's alleged physical abuse of Jolie began before their highly publicized 2016 plane incident.

The filing was part of the ongoing legal dispute between the former couple over their French winery, Château Miraval.

Jolie's legal team filed a plea on April 4th, seeking the release of correspondence that they claim would reveal Pitt, 60, would not allow her to sell her portion of the vineyard to him unless she signed an "expansive" NDA.

This is part of the couple's years-long court battle over their French winery, Château Miraval. The actor's attorneys contend in court filings to the Los Angeles County Superior Court that Pitt physically abused her before the 2016 conflict on a private jet, during which she accused Pitt of abusing their children, Yahoo. 

Although Pitt had a history of physically abusing Jolie long before the family's September 2016 journey from France to Los Angeles, the attorneys stated in the complaint that this was the first occasion that he had also physically abused the children. Jolie then left him right away.

For almost €20 million, the exes purchased the 1,300-acre Château Miraval estate in Provence in 2008. Five years later, they entered into a business partnership with the Perrin family of winemakers to create Miraval's renowned rosé. Each of the characters held a fifty percent stake in the land and its wine-making business. But following their divorce, in 2021, Jolie sold her share of the property to a Russian oligarch. This prompted Pitt to file a lawsuit, accusing Jolie of both selling her share of the vineyard without allowing him to purchase it first and of "systematic obstruction" of his management in the winery.

Since then, the couple has been involved in legal battles for divorce involving their many properties, the business, and child custody. In October 2022, Jolie submitted a cross-complaint in which she claimed that in 2016, while traveling on a private jet, Pitt had "choked" one of their children.

The New York Times was able to get court documents which stated that Pitt "grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her" in addition to "choked one of the children and struck another in the face," as per USA Today.

Additionally, according to the document, "he poured beer on Jolie; at another, he poured beer and red wine on the children" at different times. After an inquiry into the allegations of assault on the 2016 trip, Pitt refuted the accusations at the time.

Jolie "never pressed charges as she believed the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused,'" according to Jolie's attorneys in their most recent filing. The Fight Club actor allegedly attempted to quiet Jolie with the NDA.