It’s been almost two years since Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt announced their separation. The divorce is still not final because they can’t agree on custody. The two were able to keep their sh-t on lock for about a year after initially slapping at each other through the media. Recently, however, what was private has now become public again, and most of what’s been “revealed” presents Brad in a more positive light than Angelina. Including TMZ’s report on Saturday about how Angelina is too “hostile” for her lawyer, Laura Wasser, and that Laura is about to walk. Apparently Laura is all about promoting settlements and peaceful negotiations and this is not what she’s experienced with Angelina. Well that’s rich. Because Laura also represented Johnny Depp in his divorce from Amber Heard. And while that eventually did end in a settlement, I don’t recall that process being anywhere remotely close to “peaceful”, especially not when TMZ was practically dragging Amber every other day with inside information from Johnny’s sources.
Apparently the people feeding TMZ are “sources connected to Brad”. But it’s hard to ignore TMZ’s previous exclusives involving Laura, Johnny Depp in particular, and how the stories were spun in her clients’ favour. The TMZ leaks in this case don’t favour Laura’s client though. That said, they may favour Laura’s strategy, if in fact she has been having a hard time convincing Angelina to be more collaborative.
A few hours after TMZ’s report, PEOPLE followed with clarification from Angelina’s rep.
“I’ve spoken directly to Laura,” said Jolie’s spokesperson, Mindy Nyby. “The TMZ story is not true. She’s not quitting now or in the future.”
However, an insider tells PEOPLE there’s currently considerable tension between Jolie and Wasser.
Another source close to the situation says “the characterization of problems between Laura and Angie is not true.”
TMZ reported that the 43-year-old actress was hiring another law firm, something the source confirms but says is not to replace Wasser. “Someone is misinterpreting bringing in the experts, which is common at this point in the case,” says the insider. “It’s entering a new phase.”
A couple of things to note here: while there’s a strong denial here about whether or not Angelina will remain Laura’s client (she evidently will), there’s not much of a denial about whether or not their relationship has been strained. Also… Mindy Nyby, Angelina’s spokesperson? Interesting. Since when?
For a long time, Angelina very famously did not have a publicist. This is the first time in a very, very, very long time that a spokesperson for her has been named. I just checked one of the most commonly used databases tracking celebrity representation listing who’s repped by whom, and who reps whom. Mindy Nyby does not come up which means there is no other associated client on her roster. And Angelina’s page only includes her agents, manager, and lawyer, no publicist. It’s something to keep an eye on.
According to PEOPLE:
Jolie has “tried to bridge the gap between the kids and their dad,” the source tells PEOPLE. “She’s worked to achieve reinstatement for them. But it’s now between Brad, his kids, and the court. The court will determine things.”
Fighting through the media is a dick move, on all parts. In some ways, it’s also a desperate move. Given the fact that what’s come out so far seems to favour Brad, there are two ways of looking at his alleged desperation: either he’s desperate because he feels that Angelina’s unfairly manipulating the situation and it’s his last resort or he’s desperate because he’s not getting anywhere through proper channels, also a last resort. But somehow he’s still impressively spinning it as good father-ness and honour. That’s what’s amazing (but not really, considering he’s a handsome rich white dude) about Brad Pitt. He’s been winning at this game, beating Angelina in the court of public MiniVan Majority opinion.
The last we heard, he was granted by the judge more time alone with his children – which is what he wanted. And that ended up going public. So he wants us to know he’s seeing his kids, with supervision, and he wants us to believe that Angelina is being a dick about it. And we’re supposed to think she’s the petty one but he’s not. Aren’t they both petty as f-ck though? And if they’re both assholes in this situation, and both petty as f-ck, why is she always the one eating the sh-t?
