An anonymous source recently told People that Brad Pitt is “upset” that his daughter, Shiloh, filed paperwork on her 18th birthday to drop the “Pitt” from her last name.
“He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. He’s never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter,” the source said.
“The reminders that he’s lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad,” the insider added.
The last name debacle made headlines last week as Shiloh used her first official day of adulthood to make a major change to her surname. For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, this move from the eldest biological child of Pitt and ex-wife Angelina Jolie was unprecedented. But a small amount of research shows that the move lines up with the drama between Pitt and his kids that’s been brewing for years.
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Jolie, 48, and Pitt, 60, met on the set of “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” in 2003 and it’s widely reported that their chemistry was undeniable. This was complicated by the fact that Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time. He and Jolie officially became a couple following his divorce in 2005.
Pitt and Jolie became Hollywood’s “it couple” over the next decade. They formally wed in 2014. Together, they share six kids: Maddox, 22, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, Pax, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15.
Jolie had adopted Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara from Ethiopia prior to her relationship with Pitt. He legally adopted them after they got together.
The couple had their first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006. Next they adopted Pax from Vietnam. Finally, Jolie gave birth to twins, Knox and Vivienne, in 2008.
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And Shiloh isn’t the only one changing her name. Vivienne, who is listed as a producer assistant for the Broadway musical “The Outsiders,” uses the last name “Jolie” in the Playbill. A video of Zahara introducing herself while joining the Mu Pi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at her university shows the teen introducing herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie.”
What gives? Why are so many of Pitt’s children choosing to separate themselves from the Academy Award winning actor?
Most entertainment insiders believe it can be traced back to an incident that happened when the family flew from Paris to Los Angeles in 2016. The alleged incident became public in 2022 when Jolie filed a complaint claiming that her ex grabbed her by the head and shook her, then choked one of the children who tried to step in and stop him.
The abuse allegations were made shortly after the flight, per NPR, but most details were kept hidden until 2022. The New York Times was first to report the verbiage found in the court document.
“Pitt’s aggressive behavior started even before the family got to the airport, with Pitt having a confrontation with one of the children. After the flight took off, Jolie approached Pitt and asked him what was wrong,” the filing says. “Pitt accused her of being too deferential to the children and verbally attacked her.”
At another point, the document stated, “He pulled [Jolie] into the bathroom and began yelling at her. Pitt grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall.”
One of the couple’s children who was only identified as being between the ages of 8 and 15-years-old at the time verbally defended Jolie. This allegedly caused the actor to act out in anger.
“Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him. To get Jolie off his back, Pitt threw himself backwards into the airplane’s seats injuring Jolie’s back and elbow,” the filing continued. “The children rushed in and all bravely tried to protect each other. Before it was over, Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face.”
The document also accused Pitt of pouring beer on Jolie and both beer and red wine on the children. Jolie said Pitt was “becoming a monster” as he “ranted” and “mimicked the behavior of a monster and screamed at them,” per People. She said she and the children were “shell-shocked” and “frozen, scared and didn’t know what to do.”
The actress claimed that Pitt’s behavior made her feel “like a hostage.” NPR noted that criminal charges “would not be pursued due to several factors.”
The “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood” actor denied the abuse claims via his rep. An initial statement in 2022 classified the allegations as “completely untrue.”
The rep later amended the statement, admitting Pitt displayed inappropriate behavior but said Jolie was blowing it out of proportion. “(Jolie’s) story continues to evolve each time she tells it. Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do,” the new statement said.
“He has been on the receiving end of every type of personal attack and misrepresentation,” Pitt’s attorney Anne Kiley said at the time. “Thankfully, the various public authorities she has tried to use against him over the past six years have made their own independent decisions. Brad will continue to respond in court as he has consistently done.”
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It’s not just Pitt’s daughters seemingly shunning their dad. The couple’s oldest son Pax also reportedly shared his opinion, allegedly called his adoptive father a “world class a**hole” and “f***ing awful human being” in a Father’s Day post on his private Instagram account in 2020, per The Daily Mail.
“You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person,” the social media account holder wrote over a picture of Pitt accepting the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2020 for his role in “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood.”
“You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence,” the post said. “You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell. You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday.”
The drama continues as Pitt and Jolie battle for custody over their two remaining minor children and amid a messy controversy over the ownership of their French vineyard, Chateau Miraval. The former couple was declared legally single back in 2019, but their divorce is still ongoing until those two issues are settled.
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