Angelina Jolie is getting quite close to rapper Akala, despite the fact that he has a serious girlfriend, and friends warn it’s a messy situation that could erupt into a full-blown scandal 20 years after she stole Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston.
“Angelina seems totally infatuated with Akala,” an insider exclusively tells In Touch. “Between the amount of time that they spend together and how cozy they are with one another, you’d never for a second think that he’s got a long-term girlfriend.”
In recent weeks, the 49-year-old Maria star has been spotted alongside the 40-year-old rapper and journalist. However, it was reported at the end of August that they are “not” dating and have been friends for “several years.” Instead, Akala has been in a relationship with Chanelle Newman.
Still, the In Touch source reveals, “She’s very touchy-feely with him, and anytime they’re in the same city, they meet up — really any chance she gets she’s with him.”
As In Touch previously reported, Angelina and Akala have been quietly hanging out for more than a year now. The London native, whose real name is Kingslee James McLean Daley, met up with Angelina and daughters Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18, at the Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica in May 2023. Six months later, Angelina and Akala had dinner together in Milan.
According to the source, Akala’s girlfriend is “rarely on the scene, so of course people are all saying it’s inevitable that Angelina takes him for herself.”
It’s kind of like “history repeating itself,” says the insider, “with how she wore Brad down when he was still with Jennifer Aniston.” (Angelina met her 60-year-old ex on the set of 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, when Brad was married to the Friends star, 55.)
Given her past, a lot of people think that Angelina and Akala “already hooked up,” the source says, “but she denies that and gets quite defensive and insists it’s purely a working relationship and platonic friendship and nothing more.”
“She claims she respects him and his relationship and has no interest in interfering,” the source continues. “But anyone that sees the way she fawns all over him has a lot of trouble buying that explanation.”
A separate source told In Touch last month that their connection is seemingly undeniable.
“They first bonded over their shared love of activism and humanitarianism, and then a connection sparked. They both have their own production companies, so they’ve been looking for a project to work together on as well,” the insider said. “He’s been such a refreshing influence in her life and someone she can really lean on and trust because he’s so discreet. He’s like a vault, and he’s very protective of her and her kids.”
The insider continued, “It’s true, his girlfriend is there quite frequently. But Angelina sees him alone as well, and she talks to him quite a lot too, so it’s a bit of a head-scratcher for friends because the girlfriend is either the most tolerant person out there or the least insecure, given that he’s getting really close with one of the most beautiful women on the planet, who happens to be single.”
