What is your take on the Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt divorce saga? What happened on the plane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older adopted kids supposedly don’t want to see him, which isn’t surprising given that she successfully alienated them from him.

Or they know the worst of him and are opting out.

They've been divorcing for over 4 years. She's had that long to alienate them from their father.

Why is it so hard for you to believe he could be at fault? Having been raised around chill, charismatic alcoholics who turn in to freaking nightmares I tend to think the kids could be acting rationally.

At fault for what? Clearly he did something on the plane 5 years ago. Since then he has cleaned up and wants to co-parent. That's how life works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older adopted kids supposedly don’t want to see him, which isn’t surprising given that she successfully alienated them from him.

Or they know the worst of him and are opting out.

Or they were too young to see him in that light. Maybe they remember fights between their parents but to not want to see him, she used those six years to mentally bully her children away from their father. I don't think he was an absentee father, I think he like my brother, realized the more he pushed the worse it was for the children He wisely sat back and hoped the court would eventually see both sides and rule fairly. My brother had an abusive relationship with his ex, verbally abusive on both sides I have to say, and eventually he backed off having his lawyer contacting her lawyer over every other weekend visits. His ex is/was very manipulative and I suspect Angela is very much the same. Anyway, it eventually worked out for my brother and his relationships with his children but it took a lot of work once the court gave him joint custody. Sadly, there is no co parenting relationship between the two and it's tough to witness. The children deserve better and I truly feel Angela is just out to grind and ax against Brad (who I can't stand for the record). Parental alienation is a very really thing. At some point you have the call the lawyers off when you realize you are just hurting your children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older adopted kids supposedly don’t want to see him, which isn’t surprising given that she successfully alienated them from him.

Or they know the worst of him and are opting out.

They've been divorcing for over 4 years. She's had that long to alienate them from their father.

Why is it so hard for you to believe he could be at fault? Having been raised around chill, charismatic alcoholics who turn in to freaking nightmares I tend to think the kids could be acting rationally.

At fault for what? Clearly he did something on the plane 5 years ago. Since then he has cleaned up and wants to co-parent. That's how life works.

Yes, he probably got tired of her passive aggressive crap, and she is famous for that if you read about her on set antics. If he had physically abused those children it would have been out there loud and clear. You just can't keep a lid on something like that when you're that famous. I think she probably threatened him repeatedly with whatever her reality was and he told her he'd sue her for defamation if she did anything that accused him of being abusive to his children. She's been buying time and using it to her advantage, but the court of public opinion is not on her side at this point. And what kind of idiot pisses off a judge you selected yourself, what an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No winners here. Those kids must be very screwed up. She did get a partial victory in the sense that she was able to ice him out for a long time, and make sure the kids' bond was mostly broken. Very sad.

The kids aren’t babies though. Maybe she’s trying to protect the kids — who have decided for their own reasons that they don’t want him to have custody and decision- making powers over them. It does happen, it it may have much more to do with him as a father than anything else.
While there are no winners here, being forced by the courts to be in the custody of someone that you feel isn’t a good parent can leave you feeling very helpless and very screwed.

Yes, of course children make decisions and decide they don't want to see a parent. That doesn't mean they should get their wish. Children are children, not adults.

Children are people. Many have very clear experiences of what toxic relationships feel like. Their wishes should definitely be considered and revisited if necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older adopted kids supposedly don’t want to see him, which isn’t surprising given that she successfully alienated them from him.

Or they know the worst of him and are opting out.

They've been divorcing for over 4 years. She's had that long to alienate them from their father.

And Brad had longer than that to “alienate “ himself. Not one of us really knows what kind of parent he has been. It’s odd: In other threads, people encourage others to have the courage and self-regard to distance themselves from toxic people, including their own parents. It’s possible that in a very healthy way, at least some of the kids would like to do this for themselves. I’m not assuming that this IS the case — but that it plausibly could be. Some of you may have no idea what living with an alcoholic, substance abuser can be like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems a custody ruling could be close. Hope so, for the kids sakes. Parental alienation is real, and she is awful. I don't for a sake believe there was ever domestic violence.

https://pagesix.com/2021/05/25/angelina-jolie-says-judge-in-brad-pitt-divorce-wont-let-children-testify/

*second not sake

Wow. She’s already talking about appealing the decision. One gets the sense that, unless she gets what she wants, she will be fighting this custody battle until the kids have all reached 18 years of age. I can’t imagine the legal bills.

She's really desperate to get full custody, not just to stick it to him, but so she can settle overseas as she prefers. Delaying still keeps custody in her favor, but doesn't get her what she most wants. But the judge has now made it full custody is not on the table, and likely primary is not either. Good.

+1 - I refuse to believe Brad Pitt is some monster. And while I liked them together and have always given her a pass on some of her nuttier behavior, if either of the two of them has exhibited a history of instability during their lives, it's her. And she's digging a deep hole here by attacking the judge. Judges don't like that. And they like it even less when you AGREED to the judge in the first place. I don't know what happened on that plane, but it should be a high bar to deprive a parent of access to their child.

You can refuse to believe it, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t a bad guy.

+1 I think he’s an alcoholic and nothing an alcoholic does can surprise me at this point.

DP. Brad doesn’t have a track record of being abusive, and he seems better liked among his peers than she is. Based on both of their known personal histories, she’s much more erratic and unstable than he is.

Most abusers don't have a track record of being abusive until they're finally called out. And he's liked among a bunch of narcissistic man-children and young famewh-res. I agree that she seems unstable, but he strikes me as trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s a window into Jolie’s mind that she’s the daughter of that nutjob Jon Voight and that they’ve had a very strained relationship her whole life. Also that she was hospitalized for anorexia as a teenager and quite obviously still struggles to maintain a healthy weight - that is, heavy enough. Anorexia is notoriously incurable and the most deadly of psychiatric disorders.

The gamut of weirdness Jolie has exhibited over her time in the public eye and the collecting of foreign born adopted children reminds me of Mia Farrow, another unbalanced person who was all about making her breakup from Woody Allen as toxic as possible and making it a lifelong ongoing drama that has damaged their kids and her kids and lots of other people in the collateral damage.

Both of them seem like histrionic personalities, maybe borderline personality disorder is at play. Both of them have messed up their kids in very serious ways by undermining healthy relationships with fathers and other extended family members. Neither is a good mother in my book.

She reminds me of Mia Farrow too. But it's not like Woody Allen is a stand-up guy. I don't know why it's so hard to believe that BOTH halves of an estranged couple can be horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No winners here. Those kids must be very screwed up. She did get a partial victory in the sense that she was able to ice him out for a long time, and make sure the kids' bond was mostly broken. Very sad.

The kids aren’t babies though. Maybe she’s trying to protect the kids — who have decided for their own reasons that they don’t want him to have custody and decision- making powers over them. It does happen, it it may have much more to do with him as a father than anything else.
While there are no winners here, being forced by the courts to be in the custody of someone that you feel isn’t a good parent can leave you feeling very helpless and very screwed.

Yes, of course children make decisions and decide they don't want to see a parent. That doesn't mean they should get their wish. Children are children, not adults.

Children are people. Many have very clear experiences of what toxic relationships feel like. Their wishes should definitely be considered and revisited if necessary.

+1. I was 12 when my parents divorced. Thank god the judge took my opinion into account and didn’t force me to have visitation with my father. I have vivid memories of hiding, terrified, in cabinets inside locked rooms. Of his many angry outbursts and emotionally abusive words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older adopted kids supposedly don’t want to see him, which isn’t surprising given that she successfully alienated them from him.

Or they know the worst of him and are opting out.

They've been divorcing for over 4 years. She's had that long to alienate them from their father.

Why is it so hard for you to believe he could be at fault? Having been raised around chill, charismatic alcoholics who turn in to freaking nightmares I tend to think the kids could be acting rationally.

At fault for what? Clearly he did something on the plane 5 years ago. Since then he has cleaned up and wants to co-parent. That's how life works.

Yes, he probably got tired of her passive aggressive crap, and she is famous for that if you read about her on set antics. If he had physically abused those children it would have been out there loud and clear. You just can't keep a lid on something like that when you're that famous. I think she probably threatened him repeatedly with whatever her reality was and he told her he'd sue her for defamation if she did anything that accused him of being abusive to his children. She's been buying time and using it to her advantage, but the court of public opinion is not on her side at this point. And what kind of idiot pisses off a judge you selected yourself, what an idiot.

Dude, what? All we ever hear about anymore is how rich/famous people manage to keep a lid on all kinds of horrors they committed, sometimes for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The older adopted kids supposedly don’t want to see him, which isn’t surprising given that she successfully alienated them from him.

Or they know the worst of him and are opting out.

They've been divorcing for over 4 years. She's had that long to alienate them from their father.

And Brad had longer than that to “alienate “ himself. Not one of us really knows what kind of parent he has been. It’s odd: In other threads, people encourage others to have the courage and self-regard to distance themselves from toxic people, including their own parents. It’s possible that in a very healthy way, at least some of the kids would like to do this for themselves. I’m not assuming that this IS the case — but that it plausibly could be. Some of you may have no idea what living with an alcoholic, substance abuser can be like.

Sounds like some posters may have come in at the end, as it were. Did y'all follow the "unconventional" upbringing of her kids that Jolie showed off, years ago? Pitt tried to give the children some normalcy and was unable to get past Jolie. They only started to go to school, ever, after the divorce started and the judge forced it.

The kids likely do have terrible ideas about their dad. But not ideas with substance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s a window into Jolie’s mind that she’s the daughter of that nutjob Jon Voight and that they’ve had a very strained relationship her whole life. Also that she was hospitalized for anorexia as a teenager and quite obviously still struggles to maintain a healthy weight - that is, heavy enough. Anorexia is notoriously incurable and the most deadly of psychiatric disorders.

The gamut of weirdness Jolie has exhibited over her time in the public eye and the collecting of foreign born adopted children reminds me of Mia Farrow, another unbalanced person who was all about making her breakup from Woody Allen as toxic as possible and making it a lifelong ongoing drama that has damaged their kids and her kids and lots of other people in the collateral damage.

Both of them seem like histrionic personalities, maybe borderline personality disorder is at play. Both of them have messed up their kids in very serious ways by undermining healthy relationships with fathers and other extended family members. Neither is a good mother in my book.

She reminds me of Mia Farrow too. But it's not like Woody Allen is a stand-up guy. I don't know why it's so hard to believe that BOTH halves of an estranged couple can be horrible.

This. Jolie can be flawed and Pitt can be too. A lot of abusive alcoholics and drug abusers come across as “nice people” in public spheres. Pitt sounds like he was not a saint at home. Also, whatever her flaws - and to be clear, I’m no fan - Jolie seems like a dedicated mother and invested in her kids’ wellbeing. As anyone knows, taking a stand against a popular but ultimately abusive partner is an excruciating and lonely ordeal. Brad Pitt may be popular in Hollywood but that doesn’t mean he was a great father or husband.

[Anonymous]

The judge had access to reams of testimony from a plethora of mental health and learning specialists who had worked with the children. He didn’t need for the kids to be put through the excruciating ordeal of testifying against a parent. He also had warned Jolie about parental alienation, and knew he was unlikely to get objective, uncoached testimony. Glad they weren’t put through that. Glad they’re now going to school and will have more time with their father.

[Anonymous]

Jolie seems controlling and crazy. Clearly vindictive.

It’s obvious she’s used the divorce and custody battle to punish him. She isn’t protecting anybody. She’s destroyed their childhood and relationship with their father.

Guess what? Even crappy fathers get joint custody. It’s important for families to have relationships.

He had one public incident then got help. We’ve all seen celebs with decades long addictions who still see their kids. He actually got clean quickly yet is still fighting for custody.

If Sheen could see his kids, why can’t Pitt?

Those kids will eventually turn on Jolie. Just wait until they need Hollywood connections. They’ll want Pitt then.

Aniston ditched the mom who raised her for her better connected dad when she decided to be an actress.

Maybe Pitt and Aniston will be the next Bennifer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jolie seems controlling and crazy. Clearly vindictive.

It’s obvious she’s used the divorce and custody battle to punish him. She isn’t protecting anybody. She’s destroyed their childhood and relationship with their father.

Guess what? Even crappy fathers get joint custody. It’s important for families to have relationships.

He had one public incident then got help. We’ve all seen celebs with decades long addictions who still see their kids. He actually got clean quickly yet is still fighting for custody.

If Sheen could see his kids, why can’t Pitt?

Those kids will eventually turn on Jolie. Just wait until they need Hollywood connections. They’ll want Pitt then.

Aniston ditched the mom who raised her for her better connected dad when she decided to be an actress.

Maybe Pitt and Aniston will be the next Bennifer?

Why are you bringing Aniston into this? Her mother was a narcissistic nut job who belittled her and sold her old. Not like her dad was a big Hollywood player.
He was just nice to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jolie seems controlling and crazy. Clearly vindictive.

It’s obvious she’s used the divorce and custody battle to punish him. She isn’t protecting anybody. She’s destroyed their childhood and relationship with their father.

Guess what? Even crappy fathers get joint custody. It’s important for families to have relationships.

He had one public incident then got help. We’ve all seen celebs with decades long addictions who still see their kids. He actually got clean quickly yet is still fighting for custody.

If Sheen could see his kids, why can’t Pitt?

Those kids will eventually turn on Jolie. Just wait until they need Hollywood connections. They’ll want Pitt then.

Aniston ditched the mom who raised her for her better connected dad when she decided to be an actress.

Maybe Pitt and Aniston will be the next Bennifer?

Why are you bringing Aniston into this? Her mother was a narcissistic nut job who belittled her and sold her old. Not like her dad was a big Hollywood player.
He was just nice to her.

*out not old