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Brad Pitt responded to Angelina Jolie‘s latest legal filing in their standoff over the sale of Miraval, a winery that they shared joint ownership of in France. If you need a reminder, Angelina has been trying to sell her share of the winery for years now. Though she was granted permission to do so in 2021, Brad sued her and argued that she was breaking a previous agreement. The legal standoff developed significantly this week after Angelina filed court documents stating that she had faced pressure to sign an “expansive” NDA before Brad would agree to buy her out. It was alleged that the agreement would prohibit her from talking about past incidents of physical abuse, which her team claimed happened before an infamous 2016 incident involving the couple’s children. On Friday (April 5), Brad hit back via his own filing as friends close to him accuse Angelina of putting up a “smokescreen.” Read more about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt… In his newly filed court documents, Brad‘s team does not deny that an NDA was requested. However, they are demanding that Angelina provide evidence of the other NDAs that she has entered and argue that they void Angelina‘s argument. “If Jolie conditioned her continued employment of an individual on that individual’s agreement to an NDA covering what they witnessed in her home – including her treatment of her children and Pitt - that would be highly probative of whether she truly believed the provision requested by Pitt was an ‘unconscionable gag order,’ The same is true with respect to any NDA between Jolie and any third party with whom she is in a relationship or who has assisted with the care of the couple’s children,” they wrote. They continued, writing, “To the extent that Jolie requested this third party’s silence about her family or home life, particularly in a circumstance where there was no business justification, it would speak volumes about whether Jolie actually viewed Pitt’s requested NDA, which was linked to the Miraval business, as the deal-ender she subsequently alleged it to be.” “Jolie adamantly refuses to produce the many other NDAs that she signed or requested from others during the relevant time period, along with related documents, presumably because she knows they will severely undermine her defenses,” they added, saying that she described the documents as “not relevant.” Brad‘s lawyers claim that her argument was presented to “rationalize” her refusal to sell her share of the winery to Brad in the first place. Additionally, they said that Angelina had proposed her own NDA in initial attempts to come to an agreement over the sale. The couple already discussed NDAs over their separation, too. Angelina‘s behavior has been described as a “smokescreen” by those close to Brad. Another source issued a statement saying: “This case isn’t about what took place on a plane in 2016. It’s about whether they had an agreement not sell their interests in the winery and family home without the other’s consent. That’s what Brad and his team are focused on, and so far the legal momentum has been on their side.” It is unlikely that Brad and Angelina will have a trial over the situation in 2024. However, a hearing is taking place on May 16. We will update you as we learn more. Amid the legal standoff, Angelina recently made a very rare appearance with one of the couple’s daughters.
