Angelina Jolie donates $200K to NAACP legal defense on 45th birthday, says 'discrimination can't be tolerated'
Angelina Jolie addressed the United States' long history of systemic racism and injustice amid the tragic death of George Floyd, with a powerful message after donating $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, showing support for their work toward empowering the Black Lives Matter movement.
After making the sizeable donation, the 'Maleficent' actress made the following statement to Entertainment Tonight: “Rights don’t belong to any one group to give to another. Discrimination and impunity cannot be tolerated, explained away or justified. I hope we can come together as Americans to address the deep structural wrongs in our society. I stand with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in their fight for racial equality, social justice, and their call for urgent legislative reform.”
Jolie, who has served as the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has often used her celebrity status as a platform to defend the rights of refugees and other people displaced by conflict and persecution and champion organizations and causes seeking equality and helping the marginalized communities. The outlet added that Jolie has often had conversations about race with her children and tried to expose them to her humanitarian work to make them understand its significance.
ET also learned that on her 45th birthday, her thoughts and prayers have been with the families of Floyd, and other victims of racial injustice in the past like Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, as well as, people are facing difficult times in the present atmosphere. Her six kids — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne — will be spending their mother's birthday making something special for her while they spend the coronavirus quarantine with her. Even under lockdown, Jolie has continued with her charity work, connecting with UN field offices. She reportedly shared a toast with her friends and colleagues via Zoom on the big day.
Jolie's ex-husband Brad Pitt was also seen marching at a protest in downtown Los Angeles on June 3 with his friend, actress Alia Shawkat. He was photographed by paparazzi as he drove through downtown on his motorcycle, and was also spotted walking side-by-side with Shawkat.
It seems the Covid-19 lockdown is doing some good for the ex-power couple since multiple sources have revealed that the duo is apparently on good terms despite their messy divorce. “Things between Brad and Angelina are better than they have been. They’re more cordial — they’re aiming toward resolutions that work for each of them,” an insider told Us Weekly. The ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ stars were together for 12 years and tied the knot in August 2014 before parting ways in 2016.
A second source said that the A-listers have recently come to an agreement as the actor sees the younger children every few days. The insider mentioned that though Pitt is not in contact with his elder children, Maddox and Pax, he still gets updates about them from the actress. The source added that to make matters even better, Jolie is specifically “impressed with Brad’s continued sobriety”.
The former couple has reportedly agreed on their underage kids' education as they want them to now have "traditional schooling". The report also claimed that Pitt has submitted papers in the Los Angeles County Court informing the judge that he and his ex-wife have now made an agreement regarding "education and transitional support" for their children.