As we discussed yesterday, Angelina Jolie filed a counter-statement with the court in reaction to Brad Pitt’s request to seal their court records. Brad issued his statement before Christmas, wherein he slammed Angelina for having “no self-regulating mechanism,” i.e. she was actively trying to publicize their dirty laundry, regardless of how it would affect the kids. Jolie’s statement was basically, “Brad wants to keep all of this stuff private because he’s worried about his image, not the health of the kids.” She even referenced the now-closed FBI and DCFS investigations into Brad’s conduct on the plane. TMZ was the first to report on Jolie’s statement, and it took hours for People Magazine to confirm with their own reporting. But now I know why it took People so long – because they were talking to people in both camps, and they got some fascinating quotes:
A source close to the situation stresses that Brad Pitt has been cleared in all investigations.
“It’s nice to see that she has finally come around to supporting the sealing of documents weeks after he requested this action,” the source tells PEOPLE. “Considering that both the FBI and child services thoroughly investigated this matter and cleared the father, this line of attack doesn’t make much sense.”
But a second source close to the situation is firing back, saying that while Pitt may have been cleared, his actions had a lasting effect on the children.
“They keep pointing to him being cleared. While his behavior didn’t amount to anything criminal, that doesn’t mean he didn’t do anything wrong,” says the source. “The kids are traumatized. The mom has been protecting the kids by not revealing what really happened on that plane. Her interest since the outset hasn’t changed: to protect the health and safety of the kids.”
The investigation was launched after Pitt allegedly got “verbally abusive” and “physical” with one of his children with Jolie on the couple’s private plane on Sept. 14. Jolie filed for divorce five days later.
Luckily, I have zero experience with child protective services and FBI investigations, but I can see the semantic and moral point that Team Jolie is making: just because there are no criminal charges against Brad, doesn’t mean that his actions were entirely honorable, above-board and healthy. Whatever went down on the plane was a big enough dealbreaker for Jolie to bolt with the kids and immediately file for divorce. It was big enough to trigger DCFS and FBI investigations, but not big enough for criminal charges. As for Team Pitt’s passive-aggression: “It’s nice to see that she has finally come around to supporting the sealing of documents…” Perhaps you can only be this petty with someone you once truly loved.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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