Angelina Jolie alleges Brad Pitt ‘choked’ their child and ‘struck another in the face’, in court filing

Cross complaint was filed as part of their ongoing legal battle over a French winery they once owned

Angelina Jolie has filed a countersuit against her ex-husband Brad Pitt, disclosing new details of alleged abusive behaviour during a 2016 private jet ride.

On Tuesday (4 October), as part of an ongoing legal battle over the French winery they once owned, the Maleficent star filed a cross-complaint.

In the court filings, seen by The New York Times, Jolie’s lawyers claimed that negotiations to sell her share of the business had broken down after Pitt demanded she sign “a nondisclosure agreement that would have contractually prohibited her from speaking outside of court about Pitt’s physical and emotional abuse of her and their children”.

The suit also further addresses their alleged fight onboard a private jet in 2016.

“Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face” and “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her,” the filings allege, also claiming that at one point, Pitt “poured beer on Jolie; at another, he poured beer and red wine on the children”.

Responding to the new claims, a representative for Pitt called the allegations “completely untrue” in a statement to CNN.

The Independent has contacted Pitt’s representatives for comment.

The additional allegations come after FBI documents regarding the former couple’s alleged 2016 fight were leaked to the media in August.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

(PA Archive / Brad Pitt)

According to the earlier report, Pitt told Jolie that one of her children “looked like a f***ing Columbine kid” and said she was “ruining the family”.

Pitt’s alleged comment appeared to reference the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, which saw 12th-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shoot dead 12 children and a teacher in Colorado.

Elsewhere in the documents, it is stated that Jolie told FBI officials that Pitt yelled at her, “grabbed her by her head”, shook her, “pushed her into the bathroom wall”, and repeatedly punched the ceiling of the plane.

The records obtained by Rolling Stone and other outlets say the outburst occurred 90 minutes into the flight between France and Los Angeles on 14 September 2016.

In her statement, Jolie alleged that Pitt’s actions frightened their six children, who ranged from eight years old to 15 at the time.

The Lara Croft actor also claimed that Pitt consumed multiple alcoholic beverages during the flight and “poured beer on [Jolie] and the blanket she was under”. When the plane landed, she said it had sustained $25,000 worth of damage from spilt red wine.

No charges were filed following an investigation into the incident “due to several factors”, Rolling Stone reported.

In 2016, Pitt denied allegations he was abusive towards one of his children on the private jet.

In a separate statement provided to The Independent, a source close to Pitt appeared to suggest that Jolie’s team was behind the FBI document leak, saying that it “serve[s] no purpose other than to inflict pain”.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, you can call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247, or visit their website here.