Back when the love between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie was still in its heydays while shooting Mr. & Mrs. Smith, no one could have believed that things would turn sour the way they did. The now-divorced couple has been involved in an endless round of litigation on multiple fronts. In one such battle unfolding over who will take control of one of their most lucrative properties, things have taken a turn for the worse, as both are levelling heinous charges against the other.
The battle for Miraval
At the center of the dispute between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is the French estate of Chateau Miraval, a property which was bought by the former couple all the way back when they were married, hoping that the Chateau would one day belong to their children. How fast the things change!
After the initiation of the acrimonious divorce proceedings between ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’, the battle for control over numerous properties has not abated. Miraval is just another one in the thread. But one would be mistaken if they thought Miraval was nothing but just another estate.
It is so much more though.
The ace up Brad Pitt’s sleeve
Chateau Miraval has come into the spotlight ever since Angeline Jolie refused to sell her stake in the property worth $164 million following her separation from Pitt. TheĀ Lara Croft: Tomb RaiderĀ star had informed via mail back in 2021 that she was planning to get rid of her stake in the property, for which theĀ Meet Joe BlackĀ star was willing to offer more than $50 million.
Things didn’t materialize and Jolie sold her interest in the property to an entity named Stoli, run by a Russian oligarch named Yuri Shelfer. And a conflict was born. Stoli would even be accused of trying to affect a hostile takeover of the Chateau. No wonder the Inglourious Basterds star was not going to leave any stone unturned. And turns out that he had one weapon in his arsenal that is all set to be e headache for Jolie’s team.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are all set to lock horns in Court
Brad Pitt has sought to turn the tide in his favor by relying upon the testimony of Tony Webb, Pitt’s (and Jolie’s former) security guard. In his declaration, Webb revealed that he stopped working with the MaleficentĀ star’s team after they tasked him with stopping two independent contractors who worked for his company for testifying in the custody battle.
The bombshell will dent a serious blow to her chances, forcing her to take action as well. The 48-year-old’s lawyer has filed a new response, alleging,
āPitt clearly is trying to gain an unfair advantage by offering this contested evidence for the first time on reply when Jolie has no opportunity to respond. The Webb declaration has no relevance to this case or to the issue presented by Pittās motion… Pitt is now claiming that conversations with two ācontractorsā (security guards) about testimony in a different case are somehow relevant here.ā (Radar Online)
The judge is yet to take a call on Jolie’s response. But things are bound to turn really tricky as the trial proceeds onwards. The next few hearings will be key.
