Truth, Lies and Parental Alienation?
The Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie long-lasting conflict continues to keep the media’s attention and receive reporting. The Pitt-Jolie accusations against one another, the court filings, the embarrassment, the misery, all on display. In addition to the facts and truth, are there also lies and parental alienation transpiring? Highly likely.
That’s what a recent article by Alyssa Norwin at InTouch is communicating: Angelina Jolie’s Former Bodyguard Reveals How She Turned Her Kids Against Ex-Husband Brad Pitt
“It’s heartbreaking,” says a source. “The implication is that they want nothing to do with Brad.”
And their former bodyguard appears to blame their mother,” Norwin writes. “Security company owner Tony Webb, who worked for Angelina for 20 years and is still employed by Brad, is now telling all in bombshell new legal documents related to the exes’ battle over Château Miraval. According to Webb, an employee of his overheard Angelina ‘encouraging [the kids] to avoid spending time with Mr. Pitt during custody visits’ and planned to testify to that at a custody hearing.
“These documents, notes the source, basically confirmed Brad’s biggest fear: that Angelina sabotaged his kids’ relationship with him.’”
STOP. For a moment, at least. Is this emotional reasoning on behalf of Pitt, Webb and Pitt’s attorneys, supporting Pitt’s motivation to spend for legal counsel and fight his ex-wife, Jolie? Of course that’s possible, yet it’s quite possible as well that parental alienation, that nasty truth that family law likes to deny takes place, is occurring, to the great detriment of children who can’t advocate for themselves — and for parents who want to be responsibly involved in raising and loving their offspring.
“Webb also reveals that Angelina tried to silence his employees. Angelina’s assistant ‘told me that he had heard that two contractors who had provided personal security for Ms. Jolie might be testifying in the family court case,’ claims Webb, who says Angelina fired him in 2020. ‘[He] then asked me to stop these individuals from testifying.’ The assistant reminded him that if they did, ‘Ms. Jolie would sue them,’” Norwin reports.
This type of action and flex of power usually means someone wants to continue covering up wrongdoing. There are exceptions, of course. Yet in this particular situation, it appears that parental corruption is taking place. The courts often don’t catch it or want to catch it, which “sentences” the children and one parent to ongoing pain, suffering and at times, risks. Justice isn’t easy and at times, fails.
“Previous court documents have hinted at Angelina’s control over her kids. In 2018, the judge who was presiding over their divorce declared that ‘not having a relationship with their father is harmful’ to the children and scolded Angelina, 48, for listening to calls and reading texts between him and the kids.
“If she didn’t help repair their relationship with Brad, 60, the judge said, she could lose primary custody — and he even ordered her to arrange a phone call with the kids and their doctors ‘to explain that the court has determined that each of them is safe with their father,” Norwin writes.
That didn’t end well for Pitt however as Jolie’s lawyers succeeded in having the judge “disqualified” in 2021, thus one parent has, remained in a state of power and some may argue, is abusing that power and harming others.
The accusations about Pitt’s violent behavior remains talked about in the courts, the media and on message boards.
“Brad has denied all accusations of abuse, but the children seem to have taken her side. ‘Your four youngest children tremble in fear when in your presence,’ Pax, 20, reportedly wrote in a 2020 Instagram rant. ‘You will never understand the damage you have done to my family, because you’re incapable of doing so. You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell. You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday,” Norwin reports.
However… “Their bodyguards know the truth,” Norwin reports. “They know Brad and Angie’s intimate secrets and could say in court ‘‘I saw everything,’ says the source, adding that both Webb, who was reportedly on the tarmac the day the family’s private jet landed, and his security employees “were witness to their toxic marriage and the impact the behind-the-scenes drama had on their children.”
People may be speaking up.
But “one of the two individuals specified that he intended to testify regardless of the NDA, if he received a court subpoena,” Webb says in his 12-page statement that was provided by Brad’s lawyers to show that Angelina routinely used nondisclosure agreements despite refusing to sign one for Brad, which is what caused his agreed-upon purchase of her shares of Miraval to fall apart.
“The bodyguards are willing to risk Angelina’s wrath to share what they have witnessed,” the source points out. If that’s the case, “it could blow this case wide open,” adds the source. “These men were with Hollywood’s most famous couple when their marriage fell apart — they may finally reveal what really happened, once and for all.”
Is this a case of people who are extremely upset that alleged falsehoods (by Jolie) are winning the day in courts, the media and the court of public opinion and wanting to be heard or is this a concerted plan to retaliate against someone (Jolie) who they feel has done them wrong? Could this story also be driven by Pitt’s attorneys? Who knows, for certain.
The parental alienation, legally, will be extremely challenging to prove.
Yet it already has caught fire — how big is unknown — in the court of public opinion. The media hasn’t gone all in on this as a story or angle to investigate and report. That likely won’t happen, at least in the near future.
This is a story within a story, a conflict within a conflict that bears watching. Both Pitt and Jolie have taken criticism and sustained significant reputation damage. The children suffer most of all, yet the two parents, the adults, are not focused on doing the work that their own future selves will appreciate.
Parental alienation, if it is factually taking place, should almost always however be assertively addressed and an ethical, legal remedy should be pursued.
Michael Toebe is a reputation consultant, advisor and communications specialist at Reputation Intelligence: Reputation Quality, assisting individuals and organizations with further building reputation as an asset or ethically and responsibly protecting, restoring or reconstructing it.
Contact: 316-226-4071
