Getty Brad Pitt's child support payments are the latest point of contention in his divorce with Angelina Jolie.
Brad Pitt’s child support payments have become the latest point of contention as his ugly divorce and custody battle with Angelina Jolie rages on.
Now, a new report in TMZ claims that Pitt actually has paid Angelina Jolie more than $9 million since Brangelina’s divorce petition was filed. According to TMZ, citing a source, $8 million of that was a loan to help Jolie buy a home and $1.3 million was in child support.
Jolie’s team fired the first child support salvo, making it sound like Pitt was a deadbeat dad; that’s a claim his side fervently denies.
Here’s what you need to know:
Pitt’s Lawyers Accuse Angelina Jolie of Trying to Manipulate Media Coverage
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
The child support dust up started when Angelina Jolie’s lawyer filed court documents that alleged Brad Pitt had not paid “meaningful” child support since the couple’s divorce action was filed in 2016.
However, TMZ is reporting that Brad’s lawyers now accuse Jolie’s side of “a thinly-veiled effort to manipulate media coverage.” They say they were the ones who first asked for the divorce to come to a speedier conclusion even if child custody issues aren’t settled yet; Jolie’s lawyers had said they were asking Pitt to do the same when they made the child support claim.
Page Six says the Pitt counter-claim about paying $9 million came in newly filed court papers in which Pitt’s lawyers wrote that he “adamantly disputes the contention that he has not paid child support.”
Jolie Filed Court Documents Saying She Was Seeking Retroactive Child Support From Pitt
Actress Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arrive at the World Premiere Of Disney’s “Maleficent” at the El Capitan Theatre on May 28, 2014 in Hollywood, California.
Jolie’s salvo was delivered in August 2018 via a new court filing. According to CNN, Jolie’s lawyer, Samantha Bley DeJean, wrote in a court document filed August 7, 2018 that “[Pitt] has a statutory duty to pay child support. As of present, [Pitt] has paid no meaningful child support since separation.
The couple famously has six children together. “Given that the informal arrangements around the payment of the children’s expenses have not been regularly sustained by [Pitt] for over a year and a half, [Jolie] intends to file an RFO [request for a court order] for the establishment of a retroactive child support order,” the documents said, according to CNN.
CNN reported that Pitt’s side was pushing back against the claims. “It is sad that someone would deliberately misrepresent the situation, especially after Brad has continued to fulfill his commitments,” a source close to Pitt told CNN. Pitt’s side has continued to push for greater access for the actor to his children.
Neither Pitt Nor Jolie Is Hurting for Money
GettyPitt and Jolie
Both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are fabulously wealthy in their own right. Brad Pitt’s net worth for 2018 is generally given in the $240 million range.
For her part, Angelina Jolie’s net worth is said to be in the $160 million range, so it’s not like she’s hurting for cash, either.
A spokesman for Jolie said that the “aim of Angelina’s routine filing is to promote closure to the marriage in a way that clears a path toward the next stage of their lives and allows her and Brad to recommit as devoted co-parents to their children.”
The couple’s custody battles had already turned ugly and public. Previously, court documents leaked to the news media in which a judge spelled out the periods of time in which Pitt was allowed to have custody of his children. The actor was also cleared of claims that he was rough with one of his children on an airplane.