Stars, the Russian mob, and a loved winery: How Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie battle just got weird
Angelina Jolie has been accused of attempting to hurt Brad Pitt by selling her part in his French vineyard to a Russian oligarch with poisonous intentions. In a new court document, the 58-year-old 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' actor also claims that there is a plan to seize total control of his multi-million dollar wine passion project.
The Daily Mail received legal documents filed on June 3 that say ‘the Stoli brand is now a massive international liability,’ owing to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. “The US Treasury Department designated Shefler as an ‘oligarch in the Russian Federation’ in an unclassified report to Congress made pursuant to the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017,” according to papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
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Brad Pitt sues ex-wife Angelina Jolie for illegally selling her stake in French winery
Pitt and Jolie purchased the winery in Correns, southeastern France, in 2008, and the estate was valued at $164 million when they divorced. According to court documents, the South of France château, where the couple married in 2014, became Pitt's passion and under his direction has become one of the world's most renowned producers of rosé wine. Jolie ‘purported to sell her interest to Tenute del Mondo, a hostile third-party competitor bent on taking control of Miraval,’ according to the documents. The document further claims that the 'Maleficent' actress was motivated by a desire to ‘inflict harm on Pitt’ when she agreed to the agreement. The papers accuse Shefler of jeopardizing the reputation of the brand Pitt so carefully built.
“All of this is the direct result of Jolie's unlawful and tortious conduct. In violation of the parties' agreement, Jolie has sought to force Pitt into partnership with a stranger, and worse yet, a stranger with poisonous associations and intentions,” the document added. According to the media, Pitt and Jolie bought the château as a residence for their six children as well as a winery to manage as a family company. Miraval Rosé 2012, the joint venture's debut wine, sold out the first 6,000 bottles online within five hours of its introduction. Pitt's lawsuit against the seller began in February. Jolie, 47, sold half of the thriving Château Miraval winery to a firm managed by Yuri Shefler, 54, who owns the company that makes the rebranded Stolichnaya Russian vodka. Stolichnaya has been the target of boycotts all around the world as a result of Shefler's desperate attempts to dissociate himself from the Putin dictatorship.