Brad Pitt has fired back at his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, after the actress was successful in getting the judge from their custody case disqualified. Us Weekly reports that, in new legal documents, Pitt and his lawyers feel the ruling could go all the way to the state Supreme Court. “Review is warranted to resolve whether an administrative error in failing promptly to disclose additional, immaterial matters involving counsel for a party, years after disclosing a significant history of such matters, requires disqualification,” the filing stated.
Jolie previously filed a request to have Judge John W. Ouderkirk removed from the case, on the grounds that he had failed to disclose a past connection to Pitt. “Judge Ouderkirk is no longer involved and Angelina is grateful to seek a fair decision regarding custody for the children,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. However, Pitt and his attorneys stated that Ouderkirk had been forthright about the connection, dating as far back as January 2017.
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Pitt and Jolie first began dating in 2006 and later married in 2014. In 2016, Pitt and Jolie separated, with the actress filing for divorce by citing irreconcilable differences. “This decision was made for the health of the family,” the couple’s lawyer, Robert Offer, said in a statement at the time. “She will not be commenting, and asks that the family be given its privacy at this time.”
In early 2021, it was reported that Jolie had “proof and authority in support” of domestic violence claims she brought against Pitt in the past, which were alleged to have involved an altercation with Maddox. Pitt had not spoken publicly about the ongoing court battle but has reportedly been upset at the leak regarding his children being willing to testify. A source told Page Six, “Brad and his camp has never attacked Angelina. But his camp feels this leak was calculated to sway opinion ahead of the conclusion of their trial.”
Pitt had scored a big custody win back in May, when Ouderkirk ruled he should have joint custody of the couple’s children: Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. Jolie previously fired back at Ouderkirk after he refused the children the opportunity to testify in the case. In court documents filed on May 24, Jolie alleged that the children could offer testimony that provides evidence paramount to their own well-being.
