Angelina Jolie encouraged her children with Brad Pitt to shun their father during custody visits, a US court has heard.
Claims that the Hollywood actress attempted to drive a wedge between her estranged husband and their six kids were today set out in a declaration made by a former bodyguard at LA Superior Court. The former Hollywood couple are tangled in a poisonous dispute - dubbed the “War of the Roses” over Jolie’s 2021 sale of her stake in the Chateau Miraval winery they co-owned.
And in the latest bitter twist, former SAS soldier Tony Webb - who worked for the family for more than 20 years - claimed former colleague Ross Foster overheard Jolie discouraging her kids from spending time with their father. Mr Foster is said to have discussed this with Mr Webb as he prepared to give evidence in the family court case that followed the couple’s 2016 split - in spite of signing an NDA on entering their employment.
Mr Webb’s statement reads: “He also told me.. he would testify about statements he overheard that Ms Jolie made to the children, encouraging them to avoid spending time with Mr Pitt during custody visits."
Mr Webb, who set up SRS Global Security Ltd after leaving the military, was fired by Jolie after it emerged Mr Foster and a second contractor he hired were planning to give evidence in the court case. And describing his work with the family, he claimed that before his contract was terminated, Jolie’s PA Michael Viera begged him to stop the two men testifying - and even threatened she would sue them.
His account reads: “My work with Jolie began as individual assignments, typically on movie sets. In or around 2012, however, my work for her increased and I began running security for her and her family whenever they left the United States. Based on my close contact with Ms Jolie's family, including Mr Pitt, I became aware that Ms Jolie and Mr Pitt were divorcing in or around 2016. After their divorce, SRS Global and I continued to provide security for Ms Jolie, Mr Pitt and their children.
“Shortly before two SRS Global contractors testified in a court case that I understood was related to Ms Jolie and Mr Pitt's divorce and the custody of their children, Mr Vieira called me on my cell phone . . . Mr Viera told me that he had heard that two contractors who had provided personal security for Ms Jolie through SRS Global might be testifying in the family court case. Mr Vieira then asked me to stop the two individuals from testifying. I understood that Mr Vieira was making this request on behalf of Ms Jolie.
“I explained to Mr Vieira that I had no power to stop them because they were independent contractors and not employees of SRS Global. Mr Vieira then told me that his call should serve as a reminder that those individuals had entered into Non-Disclosure Agreements with Ms Jolie and that I should remind them of that, and if they testified in the family law case, Ms Jolie would sue them.
“I communicated this message to the two individuals over the phone and they both told me they planned to testify. One of the two individuals, Ross Foster, specified that he intended to testify regardless of the NDA, if he received a court subpoena.”
Mr Webb - who still works for Pitt - went on to say Jolie's PA repeated her threat to sue the bodyguards in a follow-up phone call. And his claims may prove legally problematic for Jolie because NDAs typically should not be used to gag witnesses from coming forward in court proceedings.
Despite her alleged threats, Mr Webb said he understood both his colleagues subsequently testified under subpoena - leading to Jolie terminating SRS in June 2021. And he wrote to Jolie on June 16, 2021, thanking her for the work. He went on: “I also wrote that I was sad that we had become distant over the past few years, and that I knew she blamed me for what my independent contractors had done but that because they were self employed I could not control what they did or said as they were not employed directly by SRS Global. Jolie responded “Take good care. as ever. Angie.”
The bodyguard’s bombshell claims are the latest chapter in the litigation which has gripped Hollywood. Pitt is asking LA Superior Court to unwind Jolie's October 2021 sale of her stake in the Chateau Miraval winery in Provence, France to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler claiming it breached an agreement the pair had to offer the other first refusal on a sale if either wanted out.
Jolie claims she backed out of selling to Pitt because he asked her to sign an NDA as part of the deal which she found "unconscionable." Pitt's lawyers insist her claims are a smokescreen to "rationalise" her decision, and that just six months later she proposed Pitt sign an NDA as part of their divorce talks. They now want her to come clean about NDAs she asked others to sign.
In his evidence Mr Webb also claims his instructions while in the family’s employment "included Mr Vieira telling me to present people with non-disclosure agreements on behalf of Ms Jolie and obtain their signatures.” He added: “For example, Mr Vieira often asked me to provide hotel staff with non-disclosure agreements and to get signatures from them."
In a separate legal filing, Pitt's lawyer John Berlinski accused Jolie of using NDAs in an "improper manner." Pitt's motion on NDA disclosure is expected to be decided at a hearing scheduled for May 16.
While a full trial to decide control of Chateau Miraval is not expected this year, the Oscar winner has already won a string of pre-trial battles. A Luxembourg court recently made an order provisionally stripping Shefler of some of the shares he bought from Jolie. The decision broke a 50-50 deadlock between Pitt and Shefler, effectively making Pitt the majority shareholder of the winery pending a fuller hearing on the matter.