Angelina Jolie accuses Brad Pitt of ‘waging a vindictive battle in opposition to her’ in new countersuit
In February, Pitt sued Jolie over what his declare referred to as the “illegal” sale of her stake in Château Miraval, a rustic property and vineyard within the south of France acquired by the couple in 2008.
In a countersuit filed this week, obtained by CNN, Jolie accused her ex-husband Brad Pitt of “waging a vindictive battle in opposition to her” and “hijacking” management of the profitable vineyard enterprise they as soon as shared.
Pitt and Jolie have been married on the property in 2014 and would, in line with Pitt’s go well with, spend the vacations there as a household.
After she did so, Jolie’s go well with, filed on behalf of her former firm Nouvel LLC, alleges, Pitt “and his allies” took “unlawful and malicious actions” with the intention to “injure” Jolie and Nouvel, “by devaluing its investments and depriving it of its correct function within the administration of Chateau Miraval, the world-famous producer of rosé wine.”
Jolie is searching for not less than $250 million in compensatory damages.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Pitt and Jolie for remark.
The countersuit states Pitt “masterminded a so-far-successful plan to grab management of Chateau Miraval” and mishandled trademark registrations that had “devastating monetary penalties” for Nouvel.
“Pitt has frozen Nouvel out of Chateau Miraval and treats it as his private fiefdom,” the go well with says.
It additionally says Pitt, “launched into a multi-faceted, years-long marketing campaign to grab management of Chateau Miraval and acceptable the corporate’s property for his profit and that of his personal corporations and pals.”
In his declare, Pitt had alleged that Jolie “did nothing to drive (the) development” of the enterprise, which he changed into a “multimillion greenback worldwide success story.”
Jolie’s countersuit disputes this, saying “Pitt refused to grant Jolie or Nouvel equal entry to Chateau Miraval’s information or an equal voice over administration,” successfully “holding essentially the most vital a part of her internet value hostage.”
Jolie stepped away from the enterprise in October 2021, promoting Nouvel and its stake in Miraval, to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, managed by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler.
Pitt’s lawsuit alleges the sale was illegal as a result of he and Jolie had agreed once they bought Château Miraval that neither would promote with out the opposite’s consent. But Jolie’s countersuit alleges she made the sale after negotiations between Jolie and Pitt that will have offered Nouvel to Pitt fell aside over “a provision designed to ban Jolie from publicly talking in regards to the occasions that had led to the breakdown of their marriage.”
“Pitt knew that a lot of Jolie’s wealth and liquidity have been tied up in Nouvel and used that truth to attempt to power Jolie to conform to his unreasonable phrases,” her countersuit says.
Pitt’s go well with didn’t specify an quantity hunted for damages however included a request for “aid that the Court deems simply and correct.”
A dissolution of Pitt and Jolie’s marriage was granted in 2019, however their authorized battle over property and custody of their minor kids has continued.
A California appeals court docket dominated final yr {that a} retired choose who had been employed by each events to arbitrate the custody dispute must be disqualified due to undisclosed ties to Pitt’s attorneys.
In 2020, Jolie instructed Vogue India she break up with Pitt for the sake of her kids.
Pitt instructed GQ in 2017 he had stop ingesting after having been “boozing” an excessive amount of that previous yr.
In a June 2022 interview with British GQ, he talked about discovering peace not too long ago.
“I all the time felt very alone in my life,” he instructed the publication, “alone rising up as a child, alone even out right here, and it is actually not until not too long ago that I’ve had a larger embrace of my family and friends.”
CNN’s Taylor Romaine and Chloe Melas contributed to this report.