Amid the fight over Angelina Jolie's sale of their French winery stake, actor Brad Pitt has filed a lawsuit seeking to see his ex-wife's private messages with the company's employees.
According to Us Weekly, on June 30, Brad Pitt filed a lawsuit, saying he is having difficulty subpoenaing Alexey Oliynik, an employee of the Stoli wine company, to testify. In the petition, Brad wants Alexey Oliynik to provide documents related to the transaction or any messages with Angelina Jolie. Pitt claims that Oliynik has direct information about the negotiations with Jolie and her team and is a key witness in the lawsuit.
Brad Pitt said that Alexey Oliynik is currently refusing to appear to testify or provide documents, citing the reason that he resides in Switzerland and cannot be forced to participate in the California case. The Hollywood actor said in the documents that he had "tried to meet and discuss" with Oliynik about the legal issue, but so far, no progress has been made.
Brad and Angelina Jolie bought the Miraval estate in southern France while they were still together, which is home to the couple's famous rosé wine factory. A few years after their divorce, Angelina sold her shares (50% of the factory) to the Russian group Stoli. Brad objected to the sale, claiming that he and his ex-wife had an agreement not to sell their shares to a third party without the other's permission. In 2022, Brad filed a lawsuit against Angelina to cancel his wife's transaction.
Meanwhile, Angelina Jolie denied the allegations. The actress explained that she had offered Brad the opportunity to buy back all of her shares, but he demanded that she sign a confidentiality agreement. Angelina claims that Brad forced her to sign this contract to cover up his abuse of his wife and children. Therefore, Angelina withdrew from the agreement with Brad and sold her shares to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler's Stoli Group in 2021. According to People, Angelina sold her shares for about $67 million.
However, Brad Pitt denied the abuse and argued that Angelina had asked him to sign a similar contract in another lawsuit related to child custody. In addition, "Mr. Smith" believes that his ex-wife wanted to sell her shares to someone else to get revenge on him during the divorce process.
The judge has yet to make a decision. Previously, it was reported that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were preparing for a 15-day trial, but the start date has not been determined.