Brad Pitt asked a judge to toss all claims accusing him of embezzlement as part of his bitter court battle over a French winery, Chateau Miraval, with his ex-wife Angelina Jolie, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
On Monday, December 22, Pitt, 62, filed court docs that addressed the claims he and his business improperly used Miraval’s money for vanity projects, including $8 million spent on a home on the estate and building a swimming pool.
Pitt told the court that any expenses made by Miraval were disclosed and never kept a secret.
He also addressed a message he sent his associates, as part of a conversation about Miraval building a music studio, that read, “I believe we should no longer send [Jolie] reports as she is trying to shop her shares.” He said his message is not evidence of a crime or embezzlement.
Pitt noted, “The message is framed as a personal view or observation, not an instruction, and reflects no intent to advance or facilitate any unlawful conduct.” He said there has been no suggestion that he was under any obligation to share the report in question with Jolie, 50.
His lawyer continued, “Nor does the message indicate any attempt or intent by [Pitt] to conceal stolen property from Jolie. Such a claim is nonsensical, given the public nature of the music studio and its association with [Miraval].”
Pitt argued that the alleged embezzlement claims filed against him should be heard in France, not California, since the alleged conduct happened in France. The F1 actor is demanding that all claims against him be thrown out of court.
As Us previously reported, Pitt and Jolie purchased Miraval in 2008. After their breakup, Jolie said she wanted out of the business. They tried to work out a deal, with Pitt offering $55 million, but talks fell apart.
Jolie ended up selling her shares to an alcohol company named Stoli. Pitt sued his ex to void the deal, claiming she needed his approval, which she denied.
Stoli joined the lawsuit and filed a countersuit against Pitt in 2024. The company claimed that Pitt and his team, instead of paying out Miraval’s profits to them, diverted the money to fund side businesses “and used them to fund a series of wasteful vanity projects that benefited him personally.”
Mirval’s profits grew to around $15 million in 2022, the suit said.
Stoli claimed “not a penny of the trends of millions of euros” that Miraval has earned over the years has ever been used to repay its loans. “Instead, Pitt uses the company’s funds as his own personal pocket money to indulge his wasteful spending and to benefit his business ventures.” The company said that over the years, Jolie had loaned Miraval $20 million to fund improvements.
“Pitt has caused Chateau Miraval to spend tens of millions of dollars on vanity projects that have little, if any, business justification,” Stoli’s lawyer argued. “Following the divorce filing, only Pitt has stayed at the manor house owned by Chateau Miraval and enjoyed the benefits of a personal lease on the property — Jolie never returned there.”
Stoli said after Pitt and Jolie split, Pitt took over control of Miraval.
The suit added, “Chateau Miraval has never distributed any of the business’ profits to its shareholders. Never.”
Stoli said Jolie noticed that Miraval was “spending large sums of money on projects that did not appear to have a legitimate business purpose.”
“She began to insist on receiving information about Chateau Miraval’s finances and sought to exercise greater supervision over its business,” the countersuit alleged. “Pitt frequently resisted her requests and, over time, shut her out of the business, and deprived her of information about Chateau Miraval’s finances.”
Stoli claimed Pitt approved spending and budgets without Jolie’s approval. To support this claim, the company pointed to the alleged message Pitt sent in June 2021, which read, “I believe we should no longer send AJ reports as she is trying to shop her shares.”
A source tells Us, “It’s not surprising that after another favorable decision for Brad, these parties would proceed with another frivolous filing. Unfortunately, this is to be expected from the types of people she chose to go into business with.”
As Us previously reported, Pitt scored a recent win with the court ordering Jolie to produce emails she had initially refused. (A second countersuit was filed against Pitt for $100 million. That case was filed by Nouvel, the company that held Jolie shares and that was sold to Stoli. Pitt denied all allegations of wrongdoing. The second countersuit remains ongoing.)
Pitt and Jolie started dating in 2004 and got married in 2014. The exes split in 2016 following an incident on board a private plane. The actors share six children: Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17.
In December 2024, Jolie and Pitt settled their divorce after eight years of back and forth. Jolie did not receive spousal support in the agreement.
Read the full article here
