Brad Pitt is ready to take the stand in a raging battle against his ex-wife Angelina Jolie and a “bullying” Russian tycoon.
Over the past few weeks, the Oscar winner has triumphed in three legal wins over the actress and billionaire Yuri Shefler.
Pitt, 60, and Jolie, 48, split in September 2016 and have since been embroiled in an epic fight that has taken them across the globe.
Brad Pitt and winemaker Marc Perrin are seen celebrating their award-winning rosé grapes at Château Miraval.Serge Chapuis/Chateau Miraval / MEGA
Château Miraval is at the center of a huge legal dispute being fought across the globe by Pitt, Jolie and Shefler.Serge Chapuis/Chateau Miraval / MEGA00:0204:05
They’re still fighting over finances, custody of their children — and their French vineyard, Château Miraval.
In the Miraval fight, Pitt is suing Jolie for alleged breach of contract after she sold her share of the estate to Russian oligarch Shefler, allegedly without the actor’s agreement or knowledge.
Los Angeles Superior Court this week ruled that the case could go to trial, setting the scene for a courtroom clash.
But in the meantime, he’s said to be living with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, 34, and a source who knows the couple told Page Six: “They’re spending all their time together. They’re super happy.”
Pitt is believed to have spent an estimated $10 million so far on lawyers fees, legal sources told Page Six.But that’s not money wasted, he believes, as one Pitt source told us: “This is all about standing up to bullies and defending his own people, principles and the truth. Brad is standing firm for what he believes in.”
The actor has long said that Jolie sold Miraval out of “spite” just weeks after he was initially awarded joint custody of their children. Jolie has denied this.
Jolie — seen with kids Maddox, Vivienne, Zahara, Shiloh and Knox, back in 2021 — shares joint custody of minors Vivienne, Shiloh and Knox with Pitt but they live with her and he sees them rarely, according to sources.FilmMagic
Pitt and Jolie are seen with three of their children, Knox (hidden behind Pitt), Pax and Vivienne, at Haneda International airport in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2013.REUTERS
“He’s willing to go and testify on a stand if it went to trial,” the source added.
Pitt and Jolie — alongside Shefler — are duking it out in three different jurisdictions; Luxembourg, California and France.
The A-listers bought Château Miraval together in 2008, with Pitt taking a leading role in a vineyard business which produces award-winning sparkling rosé wine.
Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler is at the center of a fight over Château Miraval. Pitt argues its sale was a breach of contract by Jolie.Zach Hilty/BFA/Shutterstock
Pitt and Jolie in happier times with daughter Zahara — who reportedly no longer uses Pitt’s surname.
The estate also boasts a recording studio that has hosted such major acts as AC/DC, The Cure and Travis Scott.
The couple wed there in an intimate 2014 ceremony with all six of their children present.
However, the “Fight Club” star alleged he was stunned to discover in 2021 that Jolie had sold her share of the property to Shefler without his agreement or knowledge.
Pitt insisted they struck a deal when their marriage broke down, agreeing each would get first refusal to buy the other out of the vineyard.
When Jolie sold her stake in the South of France estate business to Shefler’s Stoli Group for $64 million in 2021, Pitt claimed he only learned of the deal through a press release.
The actor then accused the Russian of trying to “bully” and “threaten” him and hit back at a press release announcing their new “partnership,” according to a February legal filing.
In addition to this, a French appellate court also recently ruled that the Stoli group has to give papers taken in a raid on Miraval back to Pitt and his partners.
“Jolie only inked the deal with Shefler shortly after a judge granted Pitt 50-50 custody of their children,” said the Pitt source. A press release about the deal went out in October 2021, several months after Pitt was awarded joint custody.
Pitt is said to now be living with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon. The couple have been together for more than a year.Photo Image Press/Shutterstock
De Ramon happily poses for the camera while wearing a “B” necklace.inesderamon/Instagram
The exes share Maddox, 22; Pax, 20; Zahara, 19; Shiloh, 17; and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15.
Sources said Pitt now has no relationship with Pax, who has called his adoptive father an “a–hole” and an “awful human.” Zahara, a Sophomore student at Spelman College, meanwhile, has apparently dropped Pitt’s last name.
Legally, Pitt and Jolie share joint custody of their three minor children, but a source who knows both Jollie and Pitt told Page Six, “Things are tough — Angelina travels a lot with the kids and while they remain Brad’s priority, he always would like to see them more.”
Pitt and girlfriend de Ramon cozy up for date night at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February.MEGA
Shiloh turns 18 in May and will then be under no legal order to see Pitt.
Page Six has reached out to Pitt, Jolie and Shefler for comment.
Jolie has previously claimed that she filed for divorce after Pitt tried to choke one of the kids during a boozy flight aboard a plane in September 2016, also alleging that he poured alcohol on both her and their children.
Jolie spotted apartment hunting with Pax in NYC last July.Felipe Ramales / SplashNews.com
Although the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services investigated, no charges were ever brought against Pitt.
Pitt — who will be heading to Europe soon to finish filming his Formula 1 movie, “Apex” — and Jolie were each declared legally single back in April 2019 after they requested a bifurcated judgement, which gives them both single status while the divorce is being finalized.
Last month, the exes served their final financial disclosures on the other party, which puts them one step closer to being officially divorced.
We’re told the status of the divorce proceeding is still pending and discussions are ongoing.
Pitt, seen in a promotional photo for Fleur de Miraval Champagne, is fighting Shefler and Jolie in LA, France and Luxembourg.Fleur de Miraval/ MEGA
A court in Luxembourg last month provisionally stripped Shelfer of 10% of his Miraval shares, effectively making Pitt the majority shareholder.
The shares are being kept in escrow, and it will be another year before the case is decided, Page Six is told.
Judge Lia Martin in LA this week then gave Pitt the go-ahead to sue Jolie for breach of contract.
Oscar winner Jolie argued the lawsuit should be dismissed as “frivolous, malicious and part of a problematic pattern” from Pitt.
Château Miraval’s rosé was voted the Most Desirable Provence Rosé Wine in the World.Serge Chapuis/Chateau Miraval / MEGA
“It’s been a really strong week,” said the Pitt source. “There have been three straight wins.
“Brad has insisted all along that Angelina only sold Miraval to Shefler to spite him.
“The fact that a judge in LA is allowing the case to move forward is significant.”
Jolie and Pitt are close to settling the financial terms of their divorce — more than seven years after their split.Image Press/AKM-GSI
While Pitt was never looking for a legal battle, we are told, he is not afraid to fight — whatever the consequences.
“There have been really aggressive public claims against Brad, which are repeatedly turning out to be unsubstantiated,” said the source.
