It’s a frequent complaint of divorced parents that one parent turns the kids against the other one.
Now, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s bitter custody dispute over their six children has been back in court, more than 20 months after Jolie shocked Hollywood by filing for divorce, and that exact issue seems to be at the core of their latest dispute.
And in the latest twist in the saga of the split, Jolie is apparently being ordered, in court documents, to be nicer about her ex to her kids—or risk losing primary physical custody.
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According to a court order obtained by CNN, Jolie is required to tell their children that the “court has determined that not having a relationship with their father is harmful to them,” that they are “safe with their father,” and that having a healthy relationship with both parents is “critical.”
Pitt and Jolie have three sons and three daughters, all of whom are under 16 years old.
According to CNN, the order outlines a shared custody schedule for the summer in which the children will split their time between Los Angeles and London.
Pitt was granted unrestricted phone access to the children.
In the court documents, the judge suggested that Pitt was not being allowed sufficient access to his children and appeared to caution Jolie that the custody arrangement—which sees Jolie maintaining primary physical custody—might change as a result.
“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].”
Previously, Angelina’s team has accused Brad, in numerous leaks and briefings, of being a bad dad, with anger, weed, and alcohol issues.
In one filing, Angelina alleged that Brad had gone on the attack because he was “terrified that the public will learn the truth,” and was trying to “deflect from [his] own role in the media storm that has engulfed the parties’ children.”
A representative for Pitt declined to comment to CNN on the latest development. The Daily Beast has reached out to Jolie's representatives for comment.
