Angelina Jolie has been accused of being on a 'smear campaign' against Brad Pitt following the claim that he was "emotionally and physically abusive" to the actress and their children.
The divorced couple are in a legal dispute over the selling of a vineyard in France which they co-own – with recent court documents by her lawyers having included claims of abuse.
It's alleged that Brad, now 58, was "emotionally and physically abusive" towards Angelina, now 47, and their children on a private plane on September 14, 2016.
Sources close to Brad have claimed that Angelina – to whom he was married from 2014 to 2019 – is on a "smear campaign" against him, rehashing allegations she's made for years.
They told TMZ that her repeated attempts to portray him as a child abuser have taken an "extreme toll" on their six children.
The former couple share six children together, with them parents to Maddox, now 21, Pax, now 18, Zahara, now 17, Shiloh, now 16, Knox, now 14 and Vivienne, now 14.
The outlet states that Angelina has claimed since 2016 that Brad got physical with at least one of their children on the private plane that year.
An FBI investigation was launched into the claims at the time. Following the investigation, the case was closed by the agency and no charges were filed against Brad.
TMZ reports that there was also an investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services, with its sources saying it was closed because of a lack of evidence.
The sources said Angelina has now recounted her allegations despite them having 'zero' to do with the legal documents filed in connection with the vineyard dispute recently.
As reported by PA, it was stated in the documents that she's "gone to great lengths to try to shield their children from reliving the pain Pitt inflicted on the family that day".
"When Pitt filed this lawsuit seeking to reassert control over Jolie’s financial life and compel her to rejoin her ex-husband as a frozen-out business partner, Pitt forced Jolie to publicly defend herself on these issues for the first time," her lawyers said.
The sources however said to TMZ that she wants 'revenge' against Brad.
They added that Brad has never publicly 'uttered a bad word' about her, for the sake of their kids. They said he is 'deeply wounded' by what he believes to be a 'vicious attack'.
The documents filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles – which were obtained by PA – claim Brad "verbally attacked" his now ex-wife and at one point "lunged" at one of his kids on the flight back to the city from France with their six children in 2016.
Lawyers representing Angelina detailed a series of alleged violent incidents, with her claiming Brad was "emotionally and physically abusive" towards her and their children, who ranged between 8 and 15 at the time, which resulted in her filing for a divorce.
The documents stated: "On September 14, 2016, Jolie's marriage came to an end. On that day, Jolie, Pitt and their children were flying to Los Angeles from Chateau Miraval.
"Throughout the long, overnight flight, Pitt was physically and emotionally abusive to Jolie and their children, who were then between the ages of eight and 15. After that flight, for her family’s wellbeing, Jolie decided to file for divorce."
The filing claimed that Brad's "aggressive behaviour" began before boarding the plane, being confrontational with his "terrified" children and Angelina, before continuing onboard.
It read: "When one of the children verbally defended Jolie, Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him. To get Jolie off his back, Pitt threw himself backwards into the airplane's seats injuring Jolie's back and elbow.
"The children rushed in and all bravely tried to protect each other. Before it was over, Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face. Some of the children pleaded with Pitt to stop. They were all frightened. Many were crying."
The documents went on to claim Brad had continued in an aggressive manner, swearing at the family and at one point "pouring beer and red wine on the children."
After the plane had landed, Brad allegedly also stopped the family from disembarking from the aircraft and physically abused one of his children again.
Following the incident, Angelina filed for divorce five days later on September 19, 2016, and an FBI investigation was launched. After the investigation, the FBI case was closed and no charges were filed against Brad.
The documents stated: "After interviewing various witnesses, the FBI agent who conducted the investigation concluded that the government had probable cause to charge Pitt with a federal crime for his conduct that day, and the agent prepared a probable cause statement for referral to the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution".
The claims come in a cross complaint by Angelina as part of the former couple's ongoing legal dispute over the selling of their co-owned vineyard in the south of France.
Brad has previously denied all of his ex-wife's claims.
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