Angelina Jolie is suing ex-husband Brad Pitt, according to Entertainment Tonight, claiming he mounted a campaign to steal control of a wine business they ran together from her.
MICHEL GANGNE / Staff I Getty Images
Jolie’s lawsuit is seeking $250 million in damages. It also says that Pitt devalued her portion of the business and kept her in the dark about its operations, according to multiple reports.
The pair is still battling in family court over their six kids, of whom Jolie currently has sole custody, per People.
What Is Chateau Miraval?
Chateau Miraval is a farm and winery in the south of France that the couple bought in 2008 and got married there in 2014.
In October 2021, Jolie sold her portion of the business to Yuri Shefler, a Russian oligarch, per ET. In February, Pitt then sued her for doing so, saying they had agreed to do so in the divorce without the consent of the other.
Why Is Jolie Suing Pitt?
Jolie’s counter-lawsuit, which was filed by her company, Nouvel, claims that Pitt “masterminded a so-far-successful plan” to take control of Miraval after she filed for divorce from him in 2016 and “wasted its assets, spending millions on vanity projects, including more than $1 million on swimming pool renovations and other funds restoring a recording studio.”
Further, the lawsuit reportedly says Jolie only sold the business to Shefler because the deal to sell to Pitt fell through after he tried to put in “a provision designated to prohibit Jolie from publicly speaking about the events that had led to the breakdown of their marriage.”
At least one of those known events was a widely-reported altercation that took place on a plane in 2016. The FBI and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services ended up looking into it, according to People.
Jolie has described the situation as one where she and one of her children were physically harmed. The FBI didn’t charge Pitt, and the department said it did not find abuse.
In August, media outlet Puck and others reported Jolie was the previously-unnamed plaintiff in a suit against the FBI seeking more information about their investigation into Pitt and the decision not to charge him.
