Stop Blaming Angelina Jolie for the Ongoing Custody Battle With Brad Pitt

Louisa Ballhaus
·3 min read

Going through a divorce is never easy, least of all when you’re one-half of a former “it couple” that shook Hollywood to its core. That’s the situation Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt now find themselves in, four years after Jolie first filed for divorce and no closer to resolution on major custody issues. While coverage of their split had thus far fairly lauded Jolie for getting her children out of an unstable situation after a physical altercation with an intoxicated Pitt, and for helping them facilitate a relationship with their dad in years since, the news from recent weeks suggests that tone is shifting. After a new request from Jolie to replace their presiding judge, sources came forward and claimed Jolie has been dragging the proceedings out on purpose, as revenge against Pitt, a ploy to keep him from his children, or even a secret desire to win him back. But don’t be fooled by new reports that Jolie was secretly the bad guy all along. One way or another, the public was always going to find a way to blame her.

The truth is, when kids are involved, our instinct to blame moms is so hard-wired it might as well be a reflex. So, even though nothing in Jolie’s behavior in the past four years suggests she has anything but her kids’ best interests in mind, many are suddenly eager to believe she would put her kids in a tough position for her own gain.

“This is a game she’s playing. She still has the kids for more of the time than he does and she’s trying to maintain that as long as possible,” one source told The Post. “The longer she does this, the more damage she does to the kids.”

“On some level she doesn’t want this [the divorce] to end,” another source added. “She’s trying to hold on.”

The move that precipitated this round of comments was Jolie’s request that Judge John W. Ouderkirk be replaced in their divorce proceedings due to ongoing business relations with Pitt’s attorneys. Oudenkirk refused to step down, claiming Jolie had been aware of those conflicts from the start, and a court will decide whether to remove him.

We have no way of knowing what prompted Jolie’s decision to call for a new judge — but I’m seeing a lot of assuming that Pitt has acted in 100% good faith, and very little assuming the same about Jolie.

“Brad does spend time with the kids but there are still limits and that’s the frustrating part,” another source claimed. But who would know better than Jolie why those limits are there, and when they should be lifted?

Pitt doesn’t have a right to any custody agreement he wants — he has a right to the custody agreement with which his family would feel most comfortable, and it seems clear that Jolie represents the family’s interests. Whatever move she may make next, let’s trust that she has her kids’ interests at heart.

Click here to see celebrities with huge families like the Jolie-Pitts.

Angelina Jolie, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt and Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt
Angelina Jolie, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt and Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt

Launch Gallery: All the Celebrity Splits & Divorces We Never Saw Coming

More from SheKnows

Best of SheKnows

Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.