The latest court filing comes amid the exes' battle over their French winery
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Angelina Jolie and Brad PittAngelina Jolie allegedly encouraged the children she shares with ex Brad Pitt to “avoid” their father during visits, a security guard who worked for the couple claims in new court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
The allegation comes amid the exes’ ongoing and increasingly contentious legal battle over their French winery Chateau Miraval. Lawyers for Pitt submitted to L.A. Superior Court a declaration from security company owner Tony Webb, who worked for Jolie, 48, from 2000 to 2020; he claims he was fired by Jolie, but still currently works for Pitt, 60.
In his 12-page statement, Webb claimed a Jolie aide named Michael Vieira called him and tried to enlist his help to dissuade two bodyguards who had worked for Jolie via Webb’s company SRS Global from testifying in her separate custody battle with Pitt over their children, half of whom have now reached legal age: Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and 15-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.
“During the call, Mr. Vieira 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,” according to Webb. “Mr. Vieira then asked me to stop these two individuals from testifying.”
Related: Everything to Know About Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Vineyard, Château Miraval
“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,” he continued.
“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 tell them that if they testified in the family law case, Ms. Jolie would sue them,” according to Webb.
“One of the two individuals, Ross Foster, specified that he intended to testify regardless of the NDA, if he received a court subpoena,” Webb added.
He further claimed in his declaration, “When Mr. Foster told me this, he also told me that if asked, 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.”
Paul Murphy, an attorney for Angelina Jolie, says in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, “Mr. Pitt’s continued attempt to equate common NDAs for security personnel and housekeepers covering confidential information employees learn at work, with him demanding an expanded NDA to ensure the continued coverup of his deplorable actions remains shameful."
"This case is not about NDAs in general, but about power and control," continued Murphy.
"All Angelina has ever wanted was separation and health, with positive relationships between all members of their family, including Mr. Pitt. She looks forward to the day when he is finally able to let her go.”
Pitt’s lawyers submitted the declaration from Webb in an effort to illustrate that Jolie herself used the kind of non-disclosure agreements that she objected to sign when Pitt was ready to buy her out of the wine business in 2021.
“Her hook is to allege that she was justified in terminating an imminent deal for Pitt to purchase her interest in Château Miraval, and in doing so breach her obligations not to sell to a stranger without his consent, because Pitt’s lawyers asked for an NDA to be included in the deal papers,” his lawyers wrote.
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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt; Chateau Miraval“The extent of Jolie’s reliance on NDAs will help establish that Jolie was experienced with NDAs and understood their legitimate business purposes and undermine Jolie’s claim that Pitt and Perrin’s proposal of a standard NDA with a broad carve-out for legal proceedings was ‘unconscionable’ and ‘against public policy,’ ” Pitt’s attorneys continued.
They also accused Jolie of a “ploy to turn this business dispute into a sideshow about family court matters.”
In a motion previously filed by Jolie’s lawyers on April 4, they suggested Pitt feared that sealed documents included in their separate, years-long custody battle could be made public without the NDA.
In those papers, her lawyers referenced the alleged incident that occurred the day before Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, stating, "While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him."
The FBI investigated the incident and Pitt was not charged.
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