Angelina Jolie Says 3 Kids Asked To Testify Against Brad Pitt In Custody Battle: Report

Angelina Jolie claimed in court documents that three of her children requested to testify against their dad, Brad Pitt, in their custody battle.

Jolie made the claim in a document her lawyers filed in December 2020, months before Pitt won a tentative ruling granting him 50-50 physical and legal custody of his five minor children with the "Eternals" star following a five-year legal battle. Pitt and Jolie share six children: Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12.

"The children whose custody is at issue are old enough to understand what is going on," the document obtained by Us Weekly read. "The trial is necessarily going to impact them emotionally. Three of the children have asked to testify. To make any of the children endure what may be a futile and void proceeding is beyond unjustified. It is cruel."

Jolie's lawyers filed the document as part of the actress' ongoing attempt to remove Judge John Ouderkirk from the case due to his alleged connections to Pitt's legal team. Her attorneys argued that the former couple's kids shouldn’t have even been put in a position where they had to volunteer to testify because the judge should have been removed. However, the petition was denied.

Earlier this year, Jolie filed additional documents alleging that the judge refused to hear evidence she believed was pertinent to the case, including her children's testimonies.

"Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children’s health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case," the document read.

Jolie also claimed that the judge "has failed to adequately consider" a section of the California courts code that says it is not in the best interest of a child if custody is granted to a person with a history of domestic violence.

In response to the actress' filing, Pitt's camp defended Ouderkirk's decision to reject Jolie's request to allow their children to testify.

"Ouderkirk has conducted an extensive proceeding over the past six months in a thorough, fair manner and reached a tentative ruling and order after hearing from experts and percipient witnesses," Pitt's lawyers said, adding that the judge found Jolie's testimony "lacked credibility in many important areas, and the existing custody order between the parties must be modified, per Mr. Pitt's request, in the best interests of the children."

The "Maleficent" star first attempted to remove Ouderkirk from the case in August 2020 claiming that he did not disclose his "ongoing business and professional relationships" with Pitt's lawyers. But she did not succeed, and he remained on the case.

In May, the judge issued a tentative custody order granting Pitt joint custody of the kids. Jolie was reportedly "bitterly disappointed" and planned to use "everything she's got" to fight the arrangement, according to Us Weekly.

They are scheduled for another hearing on July 9. According to the outlet, Jolie will use the appeal to "demonstrate clear, reversible, prejudicial legal error" on Ouderkirk's part.