5 Signs Brad Pitt's Relationship With His Children Is Crumbling

The following article includes allegations of child abuse and domestic abuse.

Brad Pitt's relationship with the children he shares with his ex Angelina Jolie is rumored to be fraught. Reports have said that the Jolie-Pitt children are at odds over their feelings on Pitt, with many of them separating from him in one way or another. Jolie and Pitt's children are Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Pax Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Knox Jolie-Pitt, and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt. Maddox, Zahara, and Pax are adopted, and Knox and Vivienne are twins.

It's reported that Jolie and Pitt struggled to co-parent before their divorce, and it's believed Pitt's alleged abuse is what caused Jolie to file for divorce from him. The alleged abuse incident that started the divorce proceedings happened on a private plane in 2016. That was the beginning of Jolie and Pitt's legal troubles, which has also included messy custody battles. Amongst everything that's happened, there are several signs that Pitt's relationship with his children is falling apart.

In 2016, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were flying on their plane with their children and argued. According to TMZ's report of the incident, Maddox Jolie-Pitt tried to step in and defend Jolie. The exact details are unclear, but somehow Pitt and Maddox made physical contact. Pitt may have been drunk. An insider for TMZ said Jolie was divorcing him to keep their children safe.

Pitt denied claims of child abuse during that plane incident, and an investigation from the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services and the FBI found no evidence of abuse from that day. However, Jolie's accusations in the FBI report (which were shared by NBC News in 2022) painted a grim picture, including Pitt in a physical and verbal altercation with Jolie and at least some of their children witnessing it, in addition to Maddox getting involved. "He is emphatic that it did not reach the level of physical abuse, that no one was physically harmed," an insider for Pitt said back in 2016 per NBC News. "He did not hit his child in the face in any way. ... He put his hands on him, yes, because the confrontation was spiraling out of control."

However, the FBI report also said that the plaintiff's "husband allegedly physically and verbally assaulted plaintiff and the children, who have 'experienced lasting physical and mental trauma as a result of the assault.'"

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

Angelina Jolie's countersuit regarding the sale of her and Brad Pitt's winery shed new light and alleged that two of the Jolie-Pitt children were involved in the physical altercation on the plane, according to Variety. The filing also reportedly said Pitt had been physically abusive of Jolie before then, but she split when the children got involved. In 2019, a source interviewed by Us Weekly explained that Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Pitt had yet to reconcile and had been estranged since Jolie and Pitt's breakup. They continued: "Maddox hasn't been receptive. And for Brad, it's a tremendous loss."

Other sources that spoke to Us Weekly in 2024 spoke more about how some of Pitt's older children feel about him. One source said, "They've struggled to forgive and connect with Brad since the divorce." They said it was difficult for the kids to see their parents at odds. Reportedly, Maddox and Pax Jolie-Pitt don't speak with Pitt at all. Another source said: "Sadly, their rift has only widened over time. The boys found it difficult to reconcile with Pitt despite his repeated apologies and efforts to rebuild trust."

Yet another source said, "Brad's relationship with Maddox and Pax is nonexistent at this point, and he barely, if ever, hears from Zahara." That same source also told the outlet, "Maddox was very affected by that incident, and he's taken it upon himself to be Angelina's protector."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Another sign that Brad Pitt's relationship with his children isn't strong is that many of them have chosen to drop his last name from their names. For instance, when Zahara Jolie-Pitt pledged the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 2023, she called herself "Zahara Marley Jolie." Shiloh Jolie-Pitt filed a request to drop Pitt's surname from her legal name on her 18th birthday in May 2024. According to an insider for Us Weekly, Shiloh "hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself." 

The youngest member of the Jolie-Pitt family, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, worked as an assistant and was credited as a co-producer when Angelina Jolie produced the musical adaptation of "The Outsiders" on Broadway in 2024. In the official Playbill for the musical, Vivienne was listed as "Vivienne Jolie." In June 2024, an insider told Us Weekly: "After years of legal battles, Pitt still isn't ready to give up on his children. But knowing his children are dropping his last name is upsetting."

In 2023, the Daily Mail shared screenshots of a years-old Instagram Story the outlet claimed was posted on Pax Jolie-Pitt's private Instagram account. The then-16-year-old Pax reportedly didn't hold back at criticizing Brad Pitt in the angry Father's Day 2020 rant. The post showed a photo of Pitt winning an Oscar for "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood" and said, "Happy Father's Day to this world class a**hole!!"

The scathing caption continued: "You have no consideration or empathy toward your 4 youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence. You will never understand the damage you have done to my family because you are incapable of doing so." 

It doesn't seem like there was any confirmation from Pax or any of his family members that the post was really made by him.  After the screenshots were shared, a source for The Sun said that Pitt and his three younger children (who are his and Angelina Jolie's biological children) were still in contact and added, "He still sees Shiloh and the twins whenever he can, though not as often as he would like." Reportedly, he needed to plan visits with them ahead of time and needed to be supervised when seeing them.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's custody battle began after the 2016 plane incident. During the 2021 court proceedings, then-19-year-old Maddox Jolie-Pitt testified. An insider told Us Weekly, "Maddox has already given testimony as [an] adult in the ongoing custody dispute and it wasn't very flattering toward Brad." They also said that Maddox only used "Jolie-Pitt" as his last name on legal documents. At the time, Jolie didn't want him to drop "Pitt" from his name.

Later in 2021, Us Weekly shared court documents from 2020 that said three of the Jolie-Pitt kids (presumably three of the five who were minors then) reportedly wanted to testify against Pitt too. The documents said: "The children whose custody is at issue are old enough to understand what is going on. The trial is necessarily going to impact them emotionally." Jolie also wanted the judge in her custody trial removed, since he had links to Pitt's legal team outside of the case. 

After an Us Weekly source in March 2024 said Jolie had been granted primary custody of their children who were still minors, another source said Pitt was okay with the deal because it wasn't the full custody Jolie was gunning for. According to a third insider, Pitt will have visitation rights and is hoping to form a better relationship with his children.