Brad Pitt’s relationship with several of his children became strained after an alleged domestic abuse incident during an international flight from Paris to Los Angeles in 2016.
Angelina Jolie, who has six children with Pitt — Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15 — has alleged in legal documents that their father, Pitt, physically abused her during the flight.
Jolie and Pitt’s marriage ended in 2016, shortly after the alleged plane incident.
She claimed the Bullet Train star grabbed and shook her and accused her of “ruining this family.” Not only that, the documents include even more disturbing allegations, including that Pitt “strangled” one of their children and “hit” another in the face.
However, a source close to Pitt denied any allegations of abuse, saying, “There was an argument between parent and child that was not handled appropriately and escalated more than it should have. He insists it did not rise to the level of physical abuse, no one was physically harmed. He did not hit his child in the face in any way. He did not do that; he is adamant about that.”
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Jolie and Pitt’s kids are struggling after 2016 incident
Now, a source close to the family tells Us Weekly , “Maddox was deeply affected by the incident, and he has taken it upon himself to be Angelina’s protector,” adding that Maddox’s negative perception of Pitt is “even rubbing off on the younger kids.”
And that’s why Shiloh’s recent decision to drop Pitt from her surname, according to an insider, “seems to be connected” to rumors about her father’s alleged “abuse history.” She [used to be] very close with Brad and his family, but that relationship [changed] in recent years,” the insider explained.
The youngest of the Jolie-Pitt children, Vivienne and Knox, have also begun to distance themselves from their father. Vivienne decided not to use her father’s last name on the playbill for “The Outsiders.”
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“They would do FaceTime calls while they were apart and he was much more involved in her life,” the outlet reported. “The dynamics have changed.”
Following the acrimonious backlash, a source told Us Weekly last year that Pitt “admitted that drinking was his problem, and he’s truly sorry for his role in the breakup.”
“He loves Maddox very much, and even though they are still estranged, Brad will always hold out hope for a reconciliation.”
