There’s been a new twist in Brad Pitt’s ongoing lawsuit against his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, in their battle over the French vineyard the pair previously owned together. Pitt’s lawyers now accuse Jolie of seeking to “inflict harm” on her ex-husband’s business interests.
In 2008, celebrity couple Jolie and Pitt purchased the French company Miraval, which included an estate and vineyard in the South of France. The actors hoped to extend their business portfolio by becoming winemakers.
The pair regularly holidayed at the vineyard and hoped to raise their children at the idyllic location. They even exchanged wedding vows at the vineyard in 2014.
Brad Pitt claims Angelina Jolie sold her vineyard stake without consulting him
However, the relationship went wrong and ended in divorce in 2019. They have since become embroiled in a legal battle over Miraval. Earlier this year, the 58-year-old Troy actor sued his former wife, claiming the 47-year-old had sold her stake in the winery without his agreement.
In the latest filing by Pitt’s lawyers, they claim that Jolie contributed “nothing” to the business and actually “sought to inflict harm” on the vineyard.
According to US Weekly, court documents submitted by Pitt’s lawyers say the actor poured “money and sweat” into the business, which all helped to make it a “multimillion-dollar global business and one of the world’s most highly regarded producers of rosé wine.”
They claim Jolie undermined her husband’s efforts by selling her stake, behind his back, to Tenute del Mondo, a company allegedly controlled by Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler. Pitt’s lawyers describe Tenute del Mondo as “a hostile third-party competitor bent on taking control of Miraval.”
The filing further alleges that Jolie knowingly sold her stake, expecting Shefler’s company to seize control of the vineyard and push out Pitt.
Angelina Jolie says she sold stake ‘with a heavy heart’
As previously reported by Monsters and Critics, Jolie is reported to have informed Pitt about her move at the time of the sale in January 2021. She is said to have told him that her decision to sell came “with a heavy heart,” but that she could “no longer maintain any ownership position in an alcohol-based business given her personal objections.”
Pitt and Jolie first hooked up after they starred together in Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2005; however, cracks started appearing publicly in their relationship around 2016. Jolie soon filed for divorce.
The divorce proceedings did not go smoothly and they became involved in a contentious and ongoing custody battle for their six children, Maddox, Zahara, Pax, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox. In March 2021, Jolie claimed she had proof of alleged domestic abuse by Pitt.