Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had (seemingly) begun to wrap up a long and complicated custody case that had followed their bifurcated divorce over the course of several years. Asset reallocation was next on the checklist to figure out, but Angelina Jolie had been alleged to be unhappy about the judge’s ruling on the custody arrangement, which gave Brad Pitt joint custody. She’s filed an appeal and as it turns out, documents indicate more kids wanted to be involved in the custody decision.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt share six children together, three of whom are their biological children and three of whom were adopted internationally. Maddox, 19, was already involved in the custody case, sharing testimony back in March that allegedly “wasn’t flattering” toward Pitt. The former couple also share Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt (17), Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt (16), Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt (15), Knox Léon Jolie-Pitt (12) and Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt (12). Zahara, Pax and Maddox were adopted by Brad Pitt after Angelina Jolie had adopted them overseas.
Now, according to the court filing from Angelina Jolie’s team, three of the Those Who Wish Me Dead and Eternals star’s children wanted to testify in the custody appeal. A report does not list which of the three kids wanted to speak, but does explain the kids should not have even been in the position to want to testify had Jolie successfully been able to push the judge off of the case. Here’s the quote from the documents (via US Weekly):
The children whose custody is at issue are old enough to understand what is going on. The trial is necessarily going to impact them emotionally. Three of the children have asked to testify. To make any of the children endure what may be a futile and void proceeding is beyond unjustified. It is cruel.
It may take a little bit of backstory to understand the full quote above. Back in August of last year, Angelina Jolie had filed a request to get the judge on the case, Judge John W. Ouderkirk, removed from the proceedings, with her legal team arguing the judge had allegedly not been open about ongoing relationships with Brad Pitt’s counsel. By November, Jolie’s team had lost the appeal and it was Ouderkirk who ultimately decided on the joint custody agreement.
At the time, Angelina Jolie was said to be unhappy with the arrangement. This seems to have been proven true now that an appeal has been filed and her team has continued efforts to get Judge Ouderkirk removed from the case. This has extended to allegations of abuse about Brad Pitt as well, evidence which Jolie’s legal team has said was not able to be heard as part of the ongoing custody dispute.
It’s not over yet. An appeal hearing has been scheduled for July 9 where Angelina Jolie is expected to argue once more that Judge John W. Ouderkirk should be removed from the proceedings. Whether any of this will ultimately impact the custody decision remains to be seen. However, both Brad Pitt and Jolie still have other assets issues to also work out, so the back-and-forth between the two’s legal teams will likely not be over soon.
