Brad Pitts’s shocking claim about Angelina Jolie

However, it’s now just a month until Angelina and Brad will, at least in the eyes of the law, be free from anything that binds them together, as the custody agreement they have in place for their two youngest children – Vivienne and Knox – will officially end when they turn 18 on July 12th. The former couple also share, Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, and Shiloh, 20.

Angelina, 51, is already planning a major f*** you to her ex-husband, having shared her plans leave behind the ‘shallow’ world of Hollywood and spend ‘a lot more time’ in Cambodia - over 8000 miles from LA, where Brad lives.

But despite the countdown now on, it seems Angelina’s toxic feuding with Brad is still rumbling on - hitting headlines again last week when a source close to the actress shared with a US publication that Brad had not attended his daughter Zahara’s graduation day from Spelman College earlier this month.

The source said, ‘Zahara’s mom and siblings, who have been involved over the four very special years were present and cheering her and her Spelman sisters on. Nothing prevented him [Brad] from showing up for her. Or ever visiting her. The day was about all she accomplished. Not whether he was willing to attend.’

In response, a source close to Brad, 62, made a shocking retaliation claim, alleging that it has become frustrating for the dad-six to be ‘pushed away’ from his children and then be criticised for it.

'When you've made clear that you're pushing him away from the children, a reasonable person cannot then complain that he's not close to the children,' the source said.

‘Brad is upset and says he was shut out and not even told when it was happening and Angelina’s response is to paint him as the villain for not reaching out,’ the insider says.

‘She says he should have been aware that this is her graduation year and made an effort to show up for her, as though it wouldn’t have caused total chaos if he’s just showed up on his own. Brad is fuming and saying she’s set him up to look like the bad guy to his kids yet again.’

And evidencing the growing distance between Brad and his children, Zahara appeared to deliver her own devastating statement against her A-list dad when she was introduced to be presented with her BA in Psychology as ‘Zahara Marley Jolie’.

Her full name, Zahara Marely Jolie-Pitt, was listed in the college’s commencement programme, but she chose to drop the Pitt when being introduced publicly.

Only Brad’s son Pax - who previously described his dad as ‘a world class *sshole’ and a ‘an awful human being’ - and his youngest son Knox still use his surname, with the other four children having dropped ‘Pitt’ either informally or legally, with his eldest biological child, Shiloh, filing to change her name legally as soon as she turned 18 last year.

An insider says, ‘This has been horribly painful for all the kids; no child wants to see their parents fight like this. That being said, there’s no question whose side they’re on. The fact that, one by one, they’re dropping Brad’s last name says it all. The kids don’t sit around trash-talking their dad or wishing him harm. It’s more of a sad and unspoken topic at this point that’s something they’ve learned to live with.

‘They’re fiercely protective of their mom so whenever there’s any sort of conflict, even over something relatively minor, they typically back her. This argument over Zahara’s graduation is the perfect example of that dynamic.’

Following her appearance at a Tom Ford event in April, fans also expressed their concerns over Angelina’s health after the actress appeared frail on the red carpet.

One fan wrote, ‘She looks tired and unwell’, while another added, ‘I know she has health issues but she really looks like she is struggling. Hope she comes back strong.’

And the source says the children have all seen the toll the divorce and legal battle with Brad has taken on their mum, and it’s not something they’re willing to easily forgive.

We’re told, ‘It’s pretty cut and dry as far as the kids are concerned: Their dad is clearly out to destroy their mom, and that’s something they’ll never understand or forgive him for.

‘They see firsthand how much it affects her, emotionally as well as financially, and the fact it’s all going down right before they move to another country only amplifies the stress for everyone concerned.’

Meanwhile, Angelina who had until recently taken a step back from her acting career, has been candid over how she feels trapped in LA due to the restrictions placed on her over the custody agreement she agreed with Brad for the care of their six children

But it still isn’t over. It’s now been a decade since Angelina filed for divorce in 2016, and the pair are now gearing up for yet another court showdown next year.

The former couple's divorce was finalised in December 2024, but Brad’s dispute with Angelina over the sale of her share of their French estate and award-winning winery, Chateau Miraval, to a Russian billionaire continues.

Earlier this month the courts backed Angelina and denied Brad’s legal team’s request for Angelina’s private emails in relation to the purchase to be released.

Then, last week, just days after Zahara’s graduation, it was revealed how the former couple’s eldest son Maddox has now legally filed to officially drop ‘Pitt’ from his surname. If a judge agrees, his new name will be 'Maddox Chivan Jolie'.

And now the source claims that for Brad, these latest blows coming so close together is only a further sign of what he and his team believe to be Angelina’s ‘spiteful’ and ‘vengeful’ persona.

The insider says, ‘Brad and his team are sticking to their line that Angie is a vengeful, spiteful character who delights in causing him anguish any chance she gets.

‘They’re saying that the fact Maddox’s name change was announced, or heavily leaked, so soon after she scored that court victory, and in the aftermath of Zahara’s graduation, was no coincidence and clearly a deliberate tactic to rub Brad’s face in it.

‘These types of spiteful moves have been going on in one form or other for over a decade now, or so they say, and it’s a big reason why Brad is so determined to stand his ground and keep fighting her in the courts. He says playing hardball is the only language she seems to understand, so it leaves him with no other choice.’

But we’re told he continues to ‘have faith’ that he’ll one day be able to build a relationship with them again – a reunion that could finally mark the end of the ‘toxic blame game’ that has overshadowed their family.

The insider says, ‘It’s all very well for people to say they need to cut their losses and let bygones for bygones, but they’re not the ones who’ve had their own kids turned against them and missed out on a decade of their lives. From Brad’s perspective that’s just wicked and unforgiveable on every level.

‘It breaks his heart to be this estranged and effectively at odds with his own kids. He hasn’t lost all hope and still has faith that in time they’ll find it in their hearts to re-forge a relationship with him. But at this stage in time it’s not looking optimistic, and this toxic blame game that’s still going on just makes everything so much worse.’

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