Brad Pitt Appeals Angelina Jolie’s Custody Victory To California Supreme Court

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been engaged in a brutal custody battle since 2016. The couple has six children in total, three of whom are adopted and five of whom are minors. 

Initially, Jolie retained full custody of the kids while Pitt had visitation rights in the presence of a therapist. There were allegations of abuse and reports of Pitt and Jolie engaging in a “screaming match,” which Maddox Jolie-Pitt (then 15) got in the middle of in order to calm his dad down. Even more damning, Jolie recently claimed that three of the children had wanted to testify against Pitt but were prevented by the judge. Pitt maintains that Jolie has taken steps to “misrepresent” the case in the press.

Recently, Pitt has challenged the initial ruling and gained a more even split of custody, but that ruling was overturned. Now, Pitt has appealed to the California Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn this ruling. Jolie released a statement through her legal counsel, Robert A. Olsen, who said “Ms. Jolie hopes Mr. Pitt will instead join with her in focusing on the children’s needs, voices, and healing.” 

Pitt’s attorney responded, “The lower court’s ruling is bad for children and bad for California’s overburdened judicial system.”