We reported earlier this week on a serious claim made by Angelina Jolie via a new court filing that alleged Brad Pitt had not paid “meaningful” child support since the couple began their divorce process in 2016. This claim — which could be interpreted as a serious one against Pitt’s character and ability to fulfill legal responsibilities — was swiftly rebutted on Wednesday when Pitt took back the proverbial microphone and decided to give his own thoughts on the issue.
More: Angelina Jolie Made a Serious Claim About Brad Pitt & His Child Support Payments
As reported by E! News, a source close to Pitt commented, “Brad always fulfills his commitments,” and later, Pitt’s attorney, Lance Spiegel, filed a four-page brief with the LA Superior Court stating that Jolie’s claims are “unnecessary” and that they “[omit] material information and [are] a thinly-veiled effort to manipulate media coverage.”
The documents go on to indicate that Pitt and Spiegel have been trying to work with Jolie and Jolie’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, to get proceedings back on track. On Aug. 1, Spiegel reportedly told Wasser that Pitt “wanted to bifurcate the issue of marital status and have the divorce finalized before other pending issues were resolved.” Wasser said she would speak to Jolie about that and get back to Spiegel, but Jolie later rejected that and, only a few days later, issued those new claims about Pitt not having paid a “meaningful” amount of child support.
Pitt says this is nothing more than an attempt by Jolie to manipulate the media. https://t.co/wz47NKfhro
— Paula Faris (@paulafaris) August 9, 2018
This new court filing indicates that Pitt “adamantly disputes the contention that he has not paid significant child support,” with the filing going on to say he has allegedly loaned Jolie approximately $8 million to “assist her in purchasing her current residence” and has paid $1.3 million for bills “for the benefit” of Jolie and the children. It is still not clear what the original agreed-upon amount was for Pitt’s child support payments or how that $1.3 million was disbursed (all at once? a lump sum?).
Not one to sit back and let Pitt’s rejection of her claims be the final word, Jolie’s reps issued a lengthy statement to E! further clarifying her position on this issue: “Angelina’s filing of yesterday was both legally appropriate and factually accurate in all respects. What has been filed by Brad’s side today is a blatant attempt to obfuscate the truth and distract from the fact that he has not fully met his legal obligations to support the children. Following the incident of September 2016, Angelina and the children needed to move from the family home, which Brad chose to keep, including all of its contents. Brad was asked to assist in the expense of a new home for Angelina and the children, but instead, he loaned Angelina money, for which he is charging her interest on a payment plan. Angelina will of course honor that loan. A loan is not, however, child support and to represent it as such is misleading and inaccurate.”
More: Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt’s New Custody Agreement Made Pitt’s Father’s Day
The statement continues, “Angelina is asking Brad to pay 50 percent of the children’s expenses. He has not. Angelina has had to shoulder the majority of those without his contribution for the past two years. Child support is not optional in California. Typically a father of means would pay these expenses voluntarily without the need for a request or court order. We are hopeful that this can be resolved without further delay or posturing.”
Who knows how much longer this will continue, but at the rate these two A-listers are going, it could be a long while until the dust settles and the divorce proceedings are finalized.
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