Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's heated confrontation during 2016 plane incident revealed in FBI documents
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An explosive FBI report is shedding new light on an allegedly violent incident between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on their private plane in 2016.
In the heavily redacted report obtained by EW, Jolie, identified by her full name and also as "AJ," accused then-husband Pitt (whose name is redacted) of physical assault aboard a plane as the family returned to California after a two-week trip. The actor allegedly led Jolie to the back of the plane, where he grabbed her by the head and shoulders and shook her while yelling, "You're f---ing up this family."
Pitt also allegedly punched the ceiling of the plane four times. Per the report, when Jolie opened the door, two of her children, whose names are also redacted, were "outside the door and crying and asked, 'Are you okay mommy?.'" Pitt, who Jolie suspected was inebriated, allegedly yelled, "No, mommy's not okay. She's ruining this family." He also allegedly poured beer on Jolie while she was under a blanket with the kids.
The 2016 incident is making headlines once again after news site Puck reported that Jolie is the anonymous Jane Doe who filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the FBI earlier this year, demanding answers about why the FBI dropped its investigation into Pitt. Politico first published a blurb in April about a judge who refused to seal an anonymous lawsuit pertaining to a plaintiff's allegations that her then-husband physically and verbally assaulted her and their children while aboard a private plane several years ago. That report pointed out that details of the suit "track closely with accusations" Jolie had leveled against Pitt as she filed for divorce in 2016.
Anthony Harvey/Getty Images Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
That year, the FBI also confirmed they were they were looking into an incident between Jolie and Pitt on a private plane that closely aligned with the blurb. Per the FBI report obtained by EW, "a representative of the United States Attorney's Office discussed the merits of this investigation" and "it was agreed by all parties that criminal charges in this case would not be pursued due to several factors."
A source close to Pitt tells EW "there is nothing new here," noting that the FBI report was made available to both parties six years ago. "What type of person files an anonymous FOIA request for information they already had?" the source said. "Both parties have had this information for nearly six years and it was even used in previous legal proceedings. There is no purpose that this serves other than it being a media stunt intended to inflict pain."
Reps for Jolie didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment Thursday.
According to the FBI report, the Department of Children and Family Services Bureau of Child Protection also received a report detailing that a minor child had been assaulted on the flight. Details of the incident in question have been heavily redacted, but the document notes tension reported by Jolie between Pitt and the children, with Pitt allegedly stating, "That kid looks like a f---ing Columbine kid."
Back in 2016, a source with knowledge of the incident told PEOPLE: "There was a parent-child argument which was not handled in the right way and escalated more than it should have." But insisted that "it did not reach the level of physical abuse. [Pitt] 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."
Later that year, Pitt was cleared of allegations of verbal and physical abuse against one of the couple's children tied to the plane incident after an investigation launched by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and the LAPD.
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016 after a decade of dating and two years of marriage, resulting in a messy court battle over custody of their children — Shiloh, Vivienne, Zahara, Maddox, Knox, and Pax — that has yet to be resolved.
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