On top of the ever-complex and ever-ongoing divorce of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the battle over their vineyard has become an even bigger part of the story. The two actors have been in the midst of a divorce since 2016, with the major points of contention being the custody of their children and the splitting of their assets, including the vineyard. After Pitt sued Jolie when she was trying to sell her shares of the winery earlier this year, Jolie's company Nouvel is now suing Pitt for $250 million over the same property.
The lawsuit Jolie's company filed claims that Pitt was trying to “seize control” over the winery and is making it so “Jolie would never see a dime” of its profits. Since Jolie has a huge financial stake in the property, the suit claims that Pitt was trying to use said stake to force her into signing a “hush-clause.” This hush-clause was allegedly trying to silence Jolie from discussing why they got divorced and that Pitt spent millions of the vineyard's money on “vanity projects.” A portion of the filing says (via Page Six):
In retaliation for the divorce and custody proceedings, Pitt embarked on a multi-faceted, years-long campaign to seize control of Chateau Miraval and appropriate the company’s assets for his benefit and that of his own companies and friends. Appointing himself the rightful owner of Chateau Miraval, his twin objectives were to usurp the value of Jolie’s company, Nouvel, and to obtain sole ownership of Chateau Miraval.
The battle between Pitt and Jolie for assets has been lengthy, what’s going on with the vineyard, has been a major part of it. The two bought it together in 2008 and invested millions into it. Earlier this year the Maleficent actor sold her share and Pitt currently retains 50% of the business. The Bullet Train actor's suit is over the shares of the vineyard. He said he was not aware of or had consent over who Jolie picked to take over her percentage of the business. It also stated that he was not aware of the sale until it was done. He sued for damages and wanted the court to undo the sale of Jolie's shares.
On top of the vineyard drama, there has been news surrounding an FBI report over the infamous plane incident in relation to Jolie’s allegations of domestic abuse by Pitt. For context, this all happened this summer, around the time Pitt's movie Bullet Train was released.
On top of all of the asset drama, they are still battling over custody of their kids, some of whom are adults now. Jolie is reportedly still fighting in court for the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor to lose 50/50 custody, and a source has spoken about how Pitt goes “long gaps” without setting them.
The behind-the-scenes drama has been going on for years now, and it does not seem like the two will be coming to an agreement anytime soon. Yet, while the battle continues both have projects in the works. Pitt’s movie Babylon is scheduled to be released later this year as part of the 2022 movie release schedule. This film is directed by Damien Chazelle and stars an ensemble including Olivia Wilde, Margot Robbie, Tobey Maguire and Jean Smart. Meanwhile, Jolie directed and produced the movie Without Blood, which is in post-production, and her next acting project, Maleficent 3, is in pre-production.
