Brad Pitt is sad about being cut off from his kids this holiday season, but a source says he’s doing everything in his power to stay calm and not rise to the bait as Angelina Jolie ramps up the mind games and rubs salt in his wound.
“It was very hard for Brad to see photos of Knox with Angelina on the red carpet because he hardly gets to see him,” a source exclusively tells In Touch. “He’s proud of Knox and has no issue with him getting out there and making a name for himself but he can’t help but feel it’s all very calculated by Angelina to mess with him.”
Knox, 16, made a rare appearance on the red carpet with the Maleficent actress, 49, on November 17 while attending the 2024 Governors Awards in Los Angeles. The teen towered over Angelina as he wore a black tuxedo that complemented his mother’s vintage gold floor-length gown.
Although Brad, 60, is “pretty much used” to his estrangement from his children, the source says it’s still “upsetting” for the father of six. Apart from Knox, Brad and Angelina share Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and Vivienne, 16.
“Every year she pulls some sort of stunt around the holidays that’s so obviously aimed at hurting him,” the insider explains. “Whether it’s taking the kids far away for a trip over the holidays to make it next to impossible for him to see them or filing something with the courts to throw a wrench into things.”
Brad turns 61 years old later this month and although he’d “love to see his kids,” he wasn’t counting on it because his ex-wife “finds a way to interfere.”
“It’s incredibly frustrating and sad but he’s trying not to get sucked down by it, he can’t control her actions,” the insider concludes. “All he can do is focus on getting his court mandated time with his kids and being the best dad he can be.”
Brad and Angelina have been entangled in a fierce legal war since their 2016 split. Though they were declared legally single in 2019, they have yet to settle their divorce as they haven’t agreed on a custody agreement over their minor children, twins Knox and Vivienne. Brad and Angelina are also battling over shared assets they acquired during the marriage, including their French winery, Château Miraval.
The children have seemingly shown their stance in small gestures — including name changes. After moving to Atlanta to attend Spelman College, Zahara didn’t include her father’s last name when introducing herself during an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority initiation ceremony.
“My name is Zahara Marley Jolie. And [I] landed all the way from the Golden State in the city full of angels: Los Angeles, California,” she said in November 2023, which was captured and shared in a video shared by Essence.
Shiloh followed her older sister’s lead after turning 18 in May. In Touch confirmed on August 19 that the teen’s petition to change her moniker to “Shiloh Nouvel Jolie” was approved.
