Angelina Jolie has been preparing to dismiss the lawsuit accusing her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, of physical and verbal abuse. Despite stepping back from the legal battle, she made a stunning appearance on the red carpet at the New York Film Festival. The Original Sin star attended the event with three of her children—Maddox, Pax, and Zahara—looking radiant and composed.
“She seems really relaxed and happy,” a source told InTouch. “It’s like she’s turned over a new leaf.”
Jolie’s accusations against Pitt date back to a 2016 incident on an international flight from France to Los Angeles, where she claimed Pitt had become physically and verbally abusive.
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Pitt always maintained his claim of innocence
The lawsuit claimed that Pitt choked one of their children and struck another in the face during the flight. She also alleged that he grabbed her head, “shook her,” and poured wine and beer on her and following a nasty legal battle, they separated for good.
Pitt, however, firmly denied any physical abuse toward his children. While acknowledging his struggles with alcohol at the time, he has consistently rejected the claims of violence. Following an investigation by authorities into the 2016 flight incident, the case was closed two months later without any charges being filed against the Bullet Train star.
In 2021, Pitt was granted 50/50 custody of their minor children by a judge, a ruling Jolie contested. Of their six children, only the twins, Knox and Vivienne, now 16, remain minors. Jolie then filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Justice in an attempt to obtain “information withheld by DOJ and the FBI contains evidence of the harm.”
However, by late September, Jolie had decided to drop the lawsuit, and both sides agreed to cover their own “legal fees and costs.”
Big ‘victory’ for Pitt?
“Brad’s team has always contended that they both got full reports already and this lawsuit was just another way for her to destroy his reputation,” the source told In Touch. “But it seems she’s finally given in.”
The decision comes as Jolie continues to distance herself from the Hollywood spotlight. “She’s never been a big Hollywood schmoozer,” an insider shared.
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Jolie has also expressed her desire to move away from Los Angeles once her youngest children turn 18, hinting at a temporary move out of the United States altogether. She said, “I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be … that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here.”
“Technically, this is a victory for Brad,” the source concluded, and added, “but the damage has already been done.”
