Actress Angelina Jolie scoffs at ex-husband Brad Pitt’s claim about her finance in legal fight over tax records

Angelina Jolie has opposed Brad Pitt’s request for her past tax returns and financial records as part of their ongoing legal dispute over Château Miraval, the French estate and winery the former couple purchased during their marriage.

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In new court filings, Jolie argued that Pitt’s attempt to obtain records from 2017 to 2019 is based on what she described as a “continued mischaracterization and selective quoting” of her previous statements.

The dispute centres on Jolie’s sale of her stake in Château Miraval to the Stoli Group. Pitt contends that the former spouses had an agreement requiring mutual consent before either party could sell an interest in the property, and he claims Jolie violated that understanding by proceeding with the sale without his approval. Jolie denies that Pitt’s approval was required.

Pitt’s legal team has argued that Jolie placed her financial condition at issue by stating that she sold her interest in Miraval to achieve “financial independence.” According to Pitt, that claim makes her tax returns and related financial records relevant to the case.

Jolie counters that her reference to financial independence was specifically about separating her finances from Pitt after their relationship ended, not an assertion that she was generally in financial distress. “Separating from one’s ex-husband is categorically different from allegations that one is suffering from general financial distress,” her filing states.

Her lawyers argue that the central issue is not whether she needed money, but whether she was seeking to disentangle her life and finances from what they describe as a controlling and abusive former spouse. Pitt has consistently denied allegations of abuse.

Jolie also says she has already voluntarily produced tax returns for other years and argues that requiring additional historical records would constitute an unnecessary invasion of her privacy.

Pitt’s attorneys maintain that the requested documents are directly relevant because Jolie has claimed she had limited economic alternatives when she sold her interest in the winery. In their filings, they argue that if she had substantial income and other financial resources during the relevant period, such evidence would undermine her assertion that she had little choice but to sell her stake.

The filings also note that Jolie is one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses and previously earned approximately $33 million for Maleficent, which made her Forbes’ highest-paid actress for that year. A judge has not yet ruled on whether Jolie will be required to produce the additional financial records.