The Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie custody battle is back in the tabloid headlines, after taking another nasty turn, this time with a judge warning the actress she could lose primary custody of their six children if she doesn’t work to repair their relationship with their father.
Jolie, 43, announced she had filed for divorce from Pitt, 54, in 2016, partly citing the way he parented the children. The two Academy Award winners have been at it since then.
"Not having a relationship with their father is harmful to them," a Los Angeles County judge recently determined in court papers which the website The Blast said it obtained. The judge added that "it is critical that each of them have a healthy and strong relationship with their father and mother."
"If the minor children remain closed down to their father, and depending on the circumstances surrounding this condition, it may result in a reduction of the time they spend with (Jolie) and may result in the court ordering primary physical custody to (Pitt)," the document reportedly said, according to The Blast.
The judge reportedly also demanded that Jolie coordinate a call between the children and their doctor to deliver the message that they are safe with Pitt, The Blast said.
The latest round of stories did not sit well with Jolie.
“This misleading leak is not in the best interests of the children,” a spokesperson for Jolie told The New York Post’s Page Six in a statement. “From the start, Angelina has been focused only on their health and needs, which is why it was so important that this last court hearing be conducted privately. It’s deplorable that someone, for their own selfish reasons, leaked selective portions of the confidential and sealed court record to create an inaccurate and unfair picture of what is really happening.”
Pitt was accused of child abuse in 2016 during an incident aboard a private plane, but was eventually cleared of the charge, The Blast noted.
The New York Daily News reported that the FBI and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services investigated the incident and allegations of child abuse before clearing the actor.
The court ordered a schedule of visits from June 8 to the 17th for Pitt with the children for a few hours a day in London, where Jolie currently rents a home, The Blast said. Jolie was barred from being present during those visits.
Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 16, one of the couple's oldest sons, is allowed to chose how much time he spends visiting because of his age, according to court records.
David Glass, a family law attorney and former therapist, and who is not connected to the case, told People magazine that the judge having to allow Pitt to have unfettered phone contact with the children gives some insight to the couple's conflict.
"The presumption there is that maybe in the past he has tried to call the children through their mother and that the mother hasn't passed along the phone call or has said they're not available or doesn't answer the phone, so the court is providing this direct access and preventing Angelina from interfering," Glass told People.
"By removing her from the communication path, it allows a more pure connection between dad and each of the kids," he added.
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