5 of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s 6 Kids Have Now Moved to Drop “Pitt” from Their Names
The moves trace back to a September 2016 flight from France to Los Angeles, during which Pitt and then-15-year-old Maddox got into a physical altercation on the family’s private plane. Jolie filed for divorce days later, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for physical custody of all six children. The FBI and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services both investigated the incident and closed their cases without charges, but the custody fight that followed dragged on for years.
Pitt was granted joint custody in a 2021 private judge’s ruling, which Jolie got overturned in 2022 after arguing the judge had failed to disclose business ties to Pitt’s attorneys. The divorce itself wasn’t finalized until December 2024, more than eight years after the initial filing. A parallel lawsuit over their French winery, Château Miraval, is still active, with Jolie alleging Pitt waged a “vindictive war” against her and Pitt countering that she sold her stake to a Russian oligarch out of spite.
Maddox, Pax, Zahara, and Shiloh have all been reported as estranged from Pitt to varying degrees since the 2016 incident. Pitt has reportedly been “hurt” and “devastated” by the name changes, though sources close to Jolie say the decisions were the kids’ own.
