Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are embroiled in one of the longest and costliest divorces in Hollywood's history, and now Brad has been left "upset" after some of their children have taken a clear stand with Angelina.
The pair share six children; Maddox, 22, and Zahara, 19 – who Angelina adopted from Cambodia and Ethiopia respectively and Brad later co-adopted once they were married – Shiloh, 18, twins Knox and Vivienne, 15, and Pax, 20, who they adopted from Vietnam together.
Court documents released last week showed that Shiloh had filed to drop Pitt from her surname on her 18th birthday and is now known by Jolie. Similarly, Vivienne is using Jolie as her professional surname in the Playbill for the Broadway musical The Outsiders, which she serves as producer assistant on. Last November, Zahara introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie at a college ceremony.
As the children begin to find their own way in the public eye, Brad worries that they could give a tell-all interview in support of their mother.
A source tells Closer, "This is a dark cloud hanging over Brad’s head, he can muzzle Angelina with his lawyers, but not his own kids. They’ve stayed quiet so far, but at some point down the line it’s very plausible that they’re going to want to tell their side of the story, there’s nothing to stop them from doing it.
"When they decide to go ahead and talk Brad will just have to sit back and take it. Angelina is very clear this is not something she’s encouraging and she still insists that they’ve made their own minds up about dropping his name, but if these kids do want to turn around and get the ultimate closure by laying it all out in the open and telling the world what they’ve been through, it’s going to be Brad’s worst nightmare and no doubt will be the ultimate humiliation for him.
"He’s in a very tough spot, all he can do is wait for the hammer to drop and try to put it out his mind."
The closest the children have come to going public on their thoughts about their father came in November when an alleged private Instagram message from Pax leaked online.
In the outburst, which is said to have been posted in 2020, Pax reportedly wrote, "Happy Father’s Day to this world-class a**hole!! You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person.
"You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence. You will never understand the damage you have done to my family because you are incapable of doing so.
"You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell. You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want but the truth will come to light someday. So Happy Father's Day, you f****** awful human being!"
In 2022, Angelina's lawyers allegedly claimed that Brad demanded she signed "a nondisclosure agreement that would have contractually prohibited her from speaking outside of court about Pitt’s physical and emotional abuse of her and their children."
Angelina left Brad in 2016, just days after Brad allegedly physically abused Angelina and two of their children on a private jet.
The lawsuit alleged, "Pitt grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall. Pitt then punched the ceiling of the plane numerous times, prompting Jolie to leave the bathroom.
Closer's insider continues, "These kids are angry, this battle between their parents has dragged on for so many years and they’re clearly putting a huge amount of the blame for that on Brad, whether it’s justified or not. He has his visitation rights but he doesn’t want to force his kids to see him. For a long time that meant he was seeing them once a week, but sadly it’s now gotten to a point where the visits are few and far between, which is heartbreaking for Brad.
"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."
A representative for Brad denied the altercation happened after the documents were made public in 2022. No criminal charges were ever filed against Brad.
"On top of that he’s got this panic about the very real possibility that his kids will want to get their side of the story out there, whether it’s to defend their mom or just set the record straight, no one would really blame them if that's how they choose to handle their grief and sadness. But for Brad it’s a pretty terrifying prospect because he’s tried so hard to keep things as private as possible.
"He thought when his kids turned 18 he’d get the chance to see them a whole lot more but so far the opposite has happened and he now has to face the grim scenario that things might actually get even more difficult. The idea that one or all of them might choose to do a tell-all is haunting him. Just the sheer scale of heartbreak and humiliation that could cause is unbearable to even imagine. They could potentially reveal all kinds of secrets and there’d be nothing he could do about it, aside from getting into a legal war with his own children, which is just unthinkable.
"At this point all he can do is hope that their hearts soften with time, although that’s beginning to look less and less likely. Brad isn’t going to give up on fixing his relationship with his kids, but at this point there’s just not a whole lot he can do aside from praying for a miracle."