Hollywood actor Brad Pitt is suing former wife and actress Angelina Jolie for selling her stake in a French vineyard they both owned together. According to a Reuters report, Pitt filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Los Angeles, alleging that Jolie broke their agreement not to sell their interests in Chateau Miraval without the other’s consent. Jolie had reportedly sold her stake in the winery to a unit of Stoli Group, a spirits maker owned by Yuri Shefler.
In his lawsuit, Pitt has said that he had “poured money and sweat equity” into making the vineyard one of the world’s most highly regarded rose wine makers, raking in annual revenues exceeding $50 million, Reuters reported. The legal documents also said the 58-year-old Pitt helped ensure the vineyard’s profitability. As per the report, Pitt also accused 46-year-old Jolie of seeking “unearned windfall profits” derived from his work and causing him “gratuitous harm”.
Chateau Miraval is located in the Correns village of south-east France, between Nice and Marseille. The winery includes a home and the vineyard. The former couple reportedly paid €25 million for their controlling interest.
Pitt met Jolie on the sets of the 2005 film Mr and Mrs Smith, when he was still married to another Hollywood heartthrob Jennifer Aniston. They dated for 10 years before getting married in 2014. Jolie filed for divorce in 2016.
The former couple share Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, and twins Knox Léon Jolie-Pitt and Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt. Pitt also adopted Jolie’s three adopted children, Maddox Chivan, Pax Thien, and Zahara Marley.
This is not the first time that the former Hollywood couple will battle it out in court. After Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, they were embroiled in a custody battle over their children. The Maleficent actor had full custody till May 2021 when Pitt was granted joint custody. However, after it emerged that the judge did not disclose his previous business dealings with Pitt’s lawyers, he was removed from the case and the custody arrangement reverted to a 2018 agreement with Jolie having full custody and Pitt having ‘custodial time’ with their minor children.