Brad Pitt accused of ‘looting’ Provence vineyard by Angelina Jolie’s former investment firm
‘Pitt is an actor, not a winemaker,’ the lawsuit states
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Your support makes all the difference.Angelina Jolie’s former investment firm Nouvel has filed new court documents accusing her ex-husband Brad Pitt of “looting” the Provence vineyard the couple owned together.
The lawsuit accuses Pitt, 59, of acting like a “petulant child” who spent millions of dollars on vanity projects, including a recording studio and renovations on a swimming pool at the vineyard, according to a lawsuit filed by Jolie’s former investment company.
According to Fortune, Jolie sold Nouvel, which owns 50 per cent of Chateau Miraval, in 2021 to Stoli Group, owned by Russian-British businessman Yuri Shefler.
Since announcing their separation in 2016, Jolie and Pitt have been embroiled in divorce proceedings concerning child custody and disagreements over their various properties.
Pitt and Jolie bought the Province vineyard together in 2008 for around £20m. Both of them owned 50 per cent share of the property, as well as its wine-making enterprise.
Jolie sold her stake in the property in 2021 to a Russian oligarch, prompting a lawsuit from Pitt.
According to the new lawsuit reviewed by the Financial Times, Nouvel accused Pitt of acting like a “petulant child” and engaging in a “blatant money grab” in terms of the Province vineyards.
The lawyers apparently slammed Pitt for styling himself as a winemaker, instead saying he “deals in illusions, not dirt and grapes”.
“During the years that he allegedly ‘built’ the business, he filmed and appeared in dozens of movies, not to mention making countless promotional appearances, jetting-setting [sic] around the world for movie premieres, and attending Hollywood parties,” lawyers said.
The lawsuit also states that while Pitt “no doubt visited the vineyards to admire the work of the French laborers who actually made the business successful, Pitt is no vigneron”.
The Independent has contacted Pitt’s attorney and representatives for comment.
In 2022, Jolie filed a £217m lawsuit against Pitt alleging that he attempted to “seize control” of the 1,300-acre estate “in retaliation” for the divorce and custody proceedings.
Jolie alleged that Pitt squandered millions of the company’s money on “vanity projects” including more than a million dollars on a swimming pool.
The dispute over the winery began in 2021 when Pitt filed legal papers accusing Jolie of “systematic obstruction” of his management in the winery and of selling her part of a stake in the vineyard without offering him the chance to buy it first.