Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's 'nasty' divorce battle: Will the pair get shared custody of their children?
The latest development in Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce battle is that the actress has parted ways with Priya Sopori, her high-priced attorney. According to an exclusive report by Daily Mail, Sopori, who was working with Jolie's lead lawyer Samantha DeJean, filed a Notice of Withdrawal with LA's Superior Court. The report also states that it's not clear whether Jolie fired Sopori or if the attorney made the decision to quit.
According to the report, the 45-year-old actress has been vehemently fighting Pitt's efforts to win equal custody of five of their six children. The former couple's children are Pax, 16; Zahara, 15; Shiloh, 14; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. They have a sixth child, Maddox, but he's a 19-year-old adult. Talking about the four-year custody battle, a source close to Jolie said, "Angelina has fought tooth and nail to get what she wants in this divorce, when it comes to her kids she won't back down. She's paying her legal team a fortune, so if she believes one of her lawyers needs to go she won't hesitate to pull the trigger."
Before Sopori's exit, back in 2018, high-profile attorney Laura Wasser quit Jolie's team when the battle between her and Pitt reportedly became too "venomous and nasty". After Wasser, Jolie hired DeJean, the current lead attorney, who is now the only lawyer representing her.
The custody battle
Both the Hollywood A-listers are gearing up for the upcoming private custody battle, armed with witnesses that include security experts, personal assistants, bodyguards, child psychologists and doctors, according to Daily Mail. Other witnesses include domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette, Jolie's personal assistant Michael Ofstedahl and her friend and 'Girl, Interrupted' co-star Jillian Armenante. Jolie wants her children to settle in a foreign country while Pitt is completely opposed to the idea. Jolie, speaking on the topic, had earlier said, "I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18. Right now, I'm having to base where their father chooses to live."
Earlier, in June 2019, Pitt received leeway when a judge ruled that he'll get to spend more time with his children. Right now, the five children shift between their parent's homes, which are around a mile from one another. In April 2020, the superstars agreed to end their homeschooling for their children and enroll them in a traditional school.
Pitt and Jolie’s romance made global headlines while the two were co-stars on the movie 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'. Back then, Pitt was still married to actress Jennifer Aniston. Following his divorce from the ‘Friends’ star after a decade-long relationship, the superstar couple married in France in 2014. They shocked the world with the news of separation in September 2016.
Following their separation, the former couple battled in court over the custody of their children and financial arrangements. Pitt argued that he's more than capable of providing adequate financial support to his children while Jolie demanded a larger share of his estimated $300M fortune.