Comparisons have been drawn in Brad Pitt's long-running legal battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie and the recent Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial.
Since their divorce in 2019, Pitt and Jolie have been battling over custody of their children as well as Jolie's sale of her shares of their wine business in France.
The former couple, who share six children, bought a controlling stake in the French vineyard and home Château Miraval back in 2008, according to People. They married there in 2014 and spent several family holidays there.
In October 2021 Jolie reportedly sold her share in the winery to the company Tenute del Mondo, which Pitt claims in a lawsuit filed Friday and obtained by People is "bent on taking control of Miraval" and is "indirectly owned and controlled by Yuri Shefler, the Russian billionaire who controls the Stoli Group.”
Pitt stated that he and Jolie had agreed to first seek the consent of the other before selling their interests in the company and that Jolie intentionally "sought to inflict harm on" him by selling off her interests, according to the lawsuit, People reported.
Pitt further claimed to have grown the winery "into a multimillion-dollar global business and one of the world's most highly regarded producers of rosé wine," and accused Jolie of contributing "nothing to Miraval's success," according to People.
Pitt, who said Jolie's business, Nouvel, owed his company, Mondo Bongo, the right of first refusal, is now seeking damages "in an amount to be proven at trial" plus the purported sale made by Jolie to be declared "null and void," according to People, which notes that Pitt is asking for trial by a jury.
The lawsuit comes shortly after Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in his defamation case against Heard. Social media is saying that the Depp-Heard trial "opened the door" and fans are now calling for Pitt to sue Jolie for defamation amid reports he was involved in an altercation with their eldest son, Maddox, 20.
"Brad Pitt fans want him to pursue legal action against his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie. Precedent has been set," tweeted sex and culture critic Ella Dawson, who accompanied her post with screenshots of statements by fans urging Pitt to take defamation action.
"All Johnny’s case did was give motivation for other powerful people to sue," one Twitter user pointed out. "They realize if you pay millions of dollars for good attorneys and those attorneys can sway a dumb jury then they’ll get vindicated."
"This is the result of the Depp-Heard trial. It’s giving men the audacity because they KNOW they can get away with it," another added.
There were other Twitter users however, who argued that there were no similarities between the two cases.
"Why are people comparing this with the Depp case? The two cases are not alike. And I’m not sure if people realize but defamation cases existed before this trial. Johnny didn’t just start doing it. Plus to win a defamation case the evidence needs to be overwhelmingly on your side," wondered one user.
"Everyone who is screaming Depp, he sued her/ tried to sue her for selling the winery in February which was before the whole Depp thing went off," another wrote. "Depp is not the first person suing for def, ppl just read about it more now, so they get more media coverage, which sucks btw."
Pitt and Jolie have not responded to People's requests for comment.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.