Angelina Jolie alleges Brad Pitt hasn't paid any "meaningful" child support, as gloves come off in very messy divorce
The long-running divorce case of one-time Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is getting uglier by the day. While the 'Maleficent' star alleged in a court filing on Tuesday that her estranged husband hasn't paid any "meaningful" child support for a year and a half during their ongoing divorce drama, sources close to the actor said it was just a smear campaign against him as the duo couldn't agree on a settlement. The filing also added that Jolie is planning to seek a court order to push the matter and force his hand. "[Pitt] has a duty to pay child support. As of present, [Pitt] has paid no meaningful child support since separation," wrote Jolie's attorney, Samantha Bley DeJean, in a two-page brief filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by NBC News.
"Given the informal arrangements around the payment of the children's expenses have not been regularly sustained by [Pitt] for over a year and a half, [Jolie] intends to file an RFO for the establishment of a retroactive child support order." (An RFO is a request for a court order.) The court filing did not define what is "meaningful" support.
However, sources close to the actor denied the allegation.
While a source told NBC that "Brad has fulfilled his commitments," another told Page Six that the recent development was nothing but a " campaign to smear him because the former couple can’t agree on a settlement."
“This happened because Brad became fed up and said he wanted to start the formal process of divorce again and filed papers to do that,” the source told Page Six.
Mindy Nyby, a spokeswoman for Jolie, said the "aim of Angelina's routine filing is to promote closure to the marriage in a way that clears a path toward the next stage of their lives and allows her and Brad to recommit as devoted co-parents to their children."
Under California law, each parent is responsible for providing for the children based upon the agreement reached between the couple. It is not clear if Pitt and Jolie have reached an agreement. Jolie's lawyers are asking to appear before a judge to schedule a status conference in the case to address the financial issue amid the couple's separation.
The 43-year-old actress filed for divorce from Pitt, 54, in September 2016, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The Oscar-winning actress and activist for refugees around the world has six children with her actor husband, aged between 9 and 16.
The breakup of the iconic couple, once known by fans as "Brangelina," has been a very public controversy. Around the time Jolie filed for divorce, Pitt was accused of being rough with one of his children on a private plane that was en route from Europe to Los Angeles.
The incident was reported to authorities but the FBI and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services both cleared Pitt of any wrongdoing after reviews of evidence and interviews with those involved. In 2017, lawyers sought to seal records with the couple's six minor children in the ongoing divorce and child custody case.
Pitt's lawyers alleged in court documents that Jolie and her attorneys have compromised the children's privacy through court filings in a bid to undercut Pitt in the couple's custody battle.