Brad Pitt has sued ex-wife Angelina Jolie over the sale of her share of a winery that they had purchased together back in 2008.
The two actors were married in 2014 and filed for divorce two years later. The divorce was finalised in 2019.
Jolie, who recently made her Marvel debut with Eternals, reportedly sold her share of the winery called Chateau Miraval, located in Correns, France, to a Russian oligarch named Yuri Shefler.
In a court filing, Pitt alleged that Jolie sold her share of the winery without disclosing the details of the deal to him. The actors, who appeared together in films like Mr and Mrs Smith, had reached an understanding that no decision could be made regarding the winery without mutual consent.
According to the filing, Pitt and Jolie had purchased the winery for $28.4 million, with Jolie pitching in only 40% of the amount. Pitt further claimed that he had invested more time and money in the winery, while Jolie’s efforts had diminished over time.
The court documents also revealed that Jolie had informed Pitt about her plans to sell her share of the winery in July 2021. While Pitt had agreed, in September 2021, to allow Jolie to go forward with her plan, he still wanted the details of the proposed buyer to be run by him before consenting to the sale.
Pitt told the court that it was only in October 2021 that he had learnt of Jolie’s sale to Shefler’s organisation Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group. He claimed that she had neither sought his approval, nor disclosed the terms of the deal.
In addition to seeking damages, Pitt has also alleged that Shefler’s involvement has proved to be detrimental to the functioning of the winery, and has sought to undo the deal.
Recommended
Meanwhile, on the professional front, Pitt will be seen next in Babylon, alongside Margot Robbie, his co-star from the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and David Leitch’s Bullet Train. He is also set to team up with George Clooney and Jon Watts, the director of Spider-Man: Homecoming series, for a thriller.
On the other hand, Jolie released her book Know Your Rights: And Claim Them, in 2021, that she co-wrote with Amnesty International and Geraldine Van Bueren. The book is centred around the human rights of minors.