Angelina Jolie wants divorce with Brad Pitt at the earliest, says source: 'No one wants it more than she does'
An insider has told Us Weekly that Angelina Jolie wants to finalize her divorce from Brad Pitt as soon as possible. “Angelina’s the one who filed for divorce. No one wants this divorce finalized more than she does,” the source said.
This recent statement came after earlier reports stated that Jolie wanted a private judge to be barred from overseeing her divorce proceedings with Pitt. On August 10, the 45-year-old actress argued that Judge John W Ouderkirk was "too late" and "not forthcoming enough" about his working relationship with her ex’s attorney Anne C Kiley, and therefore should be disqualified from the divorce case that she filed in 2016. Judge Ouderkirk has “failed to disclose the cases that demonstrated the current, ongoing, repeat-customer relationship between the judge and Respondent’s counsel" during the Jolie-Pitt proceedings, the filing noted.
It mentioned that Jolie’s attorney, “on her own initiative, discovered the truth of what should have been disclosed long before,” leaving "[Jolie] without an … [understanding] of the professional relationship between the judge and [Pitt’s] counsel.” It is understood that from 2012 to 2013, Ouderkirk “had heard a few cases involving [Pitt’s] counsel, but that in recent years he had only undertaken one or two cases that settled without his involvement. Hidden was the fact that Judge Ouderkirk’s relationship with Respondent’s counsel had continued and expanded into 2020.”
“No one thought to let [Jolie] know. Instead, it was a little secret between Judge Ouderkirk and [Pitt’s] counsel," the court papers stated, adding “as is often true, the cover-up (or perceived cover-up) drives home the concern that something untoward is happening."
Jolie's attorney, Samantha Bley DeJean, also said in a statement: "As is set forth in the filing, all my client is asking for is a fair trial based on facts, with no special favors extended to either side. The only way litigants can trust the process is for everyone involved to ensure that there is transparency and impartiality.”
However, soon after this, Pitt hit back and claimed that the ‘Maleficent’ star’s filing will negatively affect their children. The ex power couple share six kids together: 19-year-old Maddox, 16-year-old Pax, 15-year-old Zahara, 14-year-old Shiloh, and 12-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox. "Jolie's abrupt cry of judicial bias reeks of bad faith and desperation, not to mention careless disregard for the procedural rules intended to root out legitimately conflicted judicial officers," Pitt's attorneys said in the legal documents.
"Unfortunately, the individuals hurt most by Jolie's transparently tactical gambit are the parties' own children, who continue to be deprived of a final resolution to these custody issues. Jolie's motion should, therefore, be denied," his attorneys added.
The official documents also said that Jolie's "belated request" for Judge Ouderkirk's elimination from the case was a "thinly-veiled attempt" to slow down the settlement of the long-pending custody issues in the case. The trial is scheduled to start in October 2020 and it has been said that the ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ actress agreed to Judge Ouderkirk's appointment as early as three years ago.