BRAD Pitt allegedly hit one of his children in the face and choked another during a fight with Angelina Jolie on a private plane, according to court papers filed Tuesday in the United States by his ex-wife.
The former couple, once one of Hollywood’s highest profile pairings, have been embroiled in a lengthy dispute over their marriage, custody of their six children and shared assets, including a French winery.
The allegations against Pitt have arisen in the context of a dispute over the winery.
In papers lodged in a Los Angeles court and widely quoted in US media, Jolie describes a lengthy eruption by Pitt as the couple flew with the children from California to France in September 2016.
“Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face,” the papers say, according to The New York Times, adding that he also “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her.”
At one stage in the fight “he poured beer on Jolie; at another, he poured beer and red wine on the children” the filing alleges.
Jolie alleges that the confrontation began in the plane’s bathroom when Pitt said Jolie was “too deferential” to the children.
“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,” the suit says.
“When one of the children verbally defended Jolie, Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him,” it adds.
The suit then alleges that “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.
Some of the children pleaded with Pitt to stop. They were all frightened. Many were crying.”
A representative for Pitt, who was not authorised to speak publicly, strongly denied Jolie’s allegations and called them “another rehash that only harms the family.”
