You know what I think is interesting? Brad Pitt hasn’t seen his kids since the plane incident on September 14th. That’s what I’ve gotten from putting all of the pieces together of various unnamed sources chatting to E! News, People and TMZ. Angelina took all of the kids to her Malibu rental the next day and filed for divorce just a few days after that. And Brad hasn’t seen the kids since. E! News said as much yesterday, with a source claiming that Brad “really wants to see the kids and to work out an arrangement that is best for them… he wants to work things out privately and amicably.” I’m sure he does want to work things out privately now that he’s got child protective services investigating him. As for what Jolie and the kids are up to as they’re hiding away in the Malibu fortress, the Daily Mail has photos of a lot of food being delivered to the house – pizzas and more, from the looks of it.
So what’s going to happen long term? No one knows, really. Brad still hasn’t counter-filed, although many are expecting that to happen this week. In the meantime, People Magazine points out that Angelina is still scheduled to do that guest professor gig at the London School of Economics next year:
Angelina Jolie remains on track to join the faculty of the London School of Economics. Jolie, who filed for divorce last week from Brad Pitt after two years of marriage and 12 years together, is still set to come aboard as a visiting professor for a new masters’ program focused on women, peace and security, PEOPLE has confirmed, and she’ll begin teaching there in 2017.
“She is going to be a visiting professor next year, 2017,” a spokesperson for LSE tells PEOPLE. “The post starts in September 2017.”
The program begins accepting applications this fall. In May, the esteemed academic institution announced that Jolie was one of four visiting professors appointed to the program, which is housed at the school’s Centre for Women, Peace and Security and is “dedicated to developing strategies to promote gender equality and enhance women’s economic, social and political participation and security,” the school said in a statement. As a visiting professor, Jolie is expected to give guest lectures, participate in workshop and public events, and continue research on projects.
The school’s Centre for Women, Peace and Security was launched in February 2015 by Jolie and Britain’s former foreign secretary William Hague, who had both co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. Hague will serve as a visiting professor alongside Jolie in the program, which is also expected to be taught at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security in the U.S.
So no matter what, Angelina is still very much planning to be in London next year. I’m sure Brad will have a problem with that, but then again… the family relocated to England for months this year while he worked on Allied, just as the family relocated to many of his film shoots over the years around the world. Still, I’m sure this London relocation will come up in the divorce drama to come. Speaking of, Page Six has a really stupid story about how Angelina’s humanitarian friends have been encouraging her to go “scorched earth” on Brad and those friends have been “smearing” Pitt in the press. Stupid story is stupid.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
So where is Brad? I have feeling he may be in a treatment center and that is the reason he hasn’t seen his kids since the incident. It’s the smart move for the sake of his family.
No, he’s busy smearing Angelina.
eh, they’re both smearing each other.
@K
One of the stories coming from his team basically called her a washed up actress. It was so aggressive.
Many things written about this split should be taken with a grain of salt. The stories I’ve read since last week have included everything except the kitchen sink. Unless, the words come from their mouths or a spokesperson. Sources like Daily Mail, Mirror, Page Six, Radar Online and even TMZ aren’t reliable. They are just speculating like gossip readers.
The haters are crawling out of the woodwork saying Brad should be given custody of the biological children “since the adopted children aren’t his”. Someone referred to the adopted children as “pets”. I’ve never seen such vicious ignorance in my life. To give Brad his due, there has never been any indication that he doesn’t love all the kids equally or treat them all alike.
Carmen – that is so sad to hear. It is so gross and ignorant.
Lindsay — and in Brad’s case it is patently untrue. He and Maddox used to have a great father/son relationship, and Z was his little princess.
Not only that but he adopted Maddox, Z, and Pax. They are his children. She didn’t trick him into adopting them. He was great with Maddox and I hope this was a one-of incident and with therapy and time they get back there. Plus, they are real kids with real feelings. You can’t ab don three of them and split them up from their siblings due to different DNA. Calling them pets is especially disturbing.
He doesn’t need to be outside rehab to smear Angelina; he doesn’t even need to do it himself. He’s got “people”.
I hope he’s getting help, and I hope the smears are just misguided PR flacks and tabloid wishful-thinking, not Brad himself. Whether or not the marriage can be repaired, the kids need a good relationship with their father, and coming to a peaceful arrangement with Angelina is important to that.
I love Angelina, always have but she started this smear, IMO and Angelina is the master at smear campaigns.
I think she’s not looking great in this either, her scorched earth methods put me off and I am a fan of hers from before Billy Bob to today, but this whole public spectacle her lawyers do, is just off putting to me.
Kevin Frazier of Entertainment Tonight said there were rumors Brad was staying at a hotel,I think he said Beverly Hills Hotel,but there has been no sightings of him there.
I don’t think this gig will require her to be based in London, will it? It’ll be a couple of 1-2 hour lectures within a year’s Masters programme at most.
That’s right, she’s not committing to a semester-long course. She’ll have plenty of flexibility.
What a double standard. Why should she give up an opportunity that she has dreamed of? (I studied international law in law school and that would be a dream for me). No one is saying that Brad should stop making movies all over world.
nobody had issues when brad filmed all over the world but yet when angelina made arrangements for this job that is a problem? talk abt double standard – and saying that she wants to be princess di and marry andrew etc that is pathetic – she is good enough being angelina jolie – i dont have issues with either brad or aj but using her work which she was doing for years before she even met brad as an excuse of her being a “bad parent” etc is wrong. last time i checked both brad and angelina did the home schooling thing so why only single her out
I have nothing against Angelina but what credentials does she have to be a professor?!?
Guest professors give three or four lectures a term and that’s it.
Visiting professor is what the LSE calls its guest speakers. It’s just an honorary title. She won’t be teaching. She will be giving a couple of lectures, along with many other non-academics who are involved in fields connected with any of the LSE’s Masters programmes.
She IS actually a dame but can’t use the title. She ISN’T actually a professor but can use the title. There’s Britland for you!
+1 on all.
Exactly!!! That’s what struck me in this piece…ridiculous.
None.
Thank you…as someone who worked every penny (retail, BTW) through a prestigious undergrad and even more prestigious grad school…yes, I know I sound like an ass, but I worked for it!…
Angelina paid her way her way through a lot of *hit that no one else would get away with. Multiple hard drug addictions, marriages…seriously, come on.
I was a Brangelina until I recently. Sorry Honey, you don’t get college degrees by flying on private planes with high security teams to take photo ops. With your kids.
preach Jana!
and by the way, how come no one EVER asks about those glassy eyes of hers?
Preach it girl! For those of us who’ve actually worked very hard for our education and credentials, this (along with honorary degrees) is infuriating.
Real talk @Jana- I feel your pain. I have had friends, literally full bright scholars who could only get associate prof jobs. I worked my butt off in grad school and here come Prof Angelia. Love the attention she brings to the causes and there is value in practical knowledge but it is so distressing when people like her are given these professions.
I have a friend who has spent the last 9 years working in South Sudan, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, and Afghanistan with the academic background to to back it up and she will never get an offer like this. Sigh.
Dee!! Yes. She’ll probably be awesome as a guest lecturer, but as a prof who worked for ten years to get a PhD, has slogged it out in adjunct and visiting positions (less than $20k annual) and with a debt load of $175K —i do hate that the title of Visiting Professor is sort of meaningless and can be bought.
Again, she has incredible experiences, but those opportunities are also because of fame and money. And she’s done amazing things with her opportunities. But higher ed is becoming a privatized disaster in the U.S: .student loan debt is the fastest growing debt sector, every year there is less emphasis on intellectual work from high school (standardized testing, rote drilling, not critical thinking) through undergrad (most of us have to teach freshman how to read and write)—bestowing celebs honorary titles that most people will work 40 years for—not a great incentive for young students. It would wonderful if we encouraged a little cultural shift from celebrity and access to intellectual rigor and critical thinking. I mean…this election is proof positive of charismatic figures over political philosophy.
Apologies!! I just substantiated the worst professor stereotype: long winded monologues 😉
I also find it annoyingly obsequious.
But y’know. That’s how it goes.
What is important is that the article Kaiser quotes above, and many others I’ve seen, say that she will be teaching. She will not be teaching. She is not qualified to teach a Masters programme. She will be giving talks that supplement the taught modules in a Masters programme. It’s great, it’s positive, it’s a good thing to include real world experience as well as academic teaching. But guest lecturers provide complementary content and context to a course. They. Do. Not. Teach.
Outlets are fine to continue to refer to Jolie as a visiting professor. But not to say that she will be teaching on an academic course.
Also, in the UK, professor generally applies to only the most senior academics – we go from lecturer to reader/senior lecturer to professor, where all these grades would be called some variety of professor in the US. So it’s kinda doubly misleading!
There was a lot of debate about this when that first story broke, but I’m in agreement with you – if she wants to be involved and speak on her experiences, that’s great, and offers a different perspective to the students, but the term “professor” should not be applied in any way. I get that it’s just honorary and what they call that position, but I do think it is unfair to all those who have done the work to earn that title.
Where I work ‘professor’ is a very specific title. Not all lecturers are professors. Many are Drs in their field, but you have to be on tenure track to be a Prof.
We call them visiting lecturers not profs. I’m more upset about the honorary doctorates they give out. You can be good at stuff, really really good, without having a doctorate, so give them an award or title but don’t give them an academic one just because.
I slogged through a PhD and don’t understand the animosity towards Jolie amongst some posters. It’s not overreaching to say that on some level there is a lack of real world, ‘on the ground’ experience, of university professors and academics. Desk research is the foundation of dissertations, and maybe a few months/years of field research and data collection.
Jolie has spent 15 (FIFTEEN) years visiting refugees in the most desperate parts of the world. She has started her own foundation and engaged with world leaders to affect political and systemic change. I think she has more than enough experience to deliver lectures on these topics to students. At my university there are plenty of visiting professors, lecturers, adjuncts, etc who are not PhDs but instead are practitioners in the field. Students love learning from them–they bring an interesting perspective to the classroom. They bridge theory with practice. This is especially important at the Masters level.
Recently the BBC had a report on Yemen. I couldn’t watch more than 10 seconds of the video because it showed children starving to death. I was sobbing like a baby. If Jolie can visit these places and keep it together for 15 years, then she deserves a platform to speak about it.
@Deens def not animosity and as i said, Angelina Jolie’s experiences are incredible!
she WAS able to make those experiences because of her unique access which is a credit to her passion and intelligence to take wealth and be a humanitarian!
at the same time, motivating young people in higher education over celebrity is already a challenge.
furthermore, female professors do face considerable challenges in our credibility based on age old systems that read male professors as brilliant geniuses and female profs as girlfriends or mothers, recipients of a “gimme” degree because of gender quotas rather than earned through hard work. women professors are consistently challenged on their expertise, are often positioned as facilitators rather then the creators of thought alongside men in graduate school, and receive systematically lower evaluations than men, no matter the teaching style, student rapport or subject matter. students refer to male grad students as “Dr” and their female profs as “Hey You.” and women professors of color face this challenge tenfold to white female profs. this type of sexism in higher ed is well documented. so taking our profession seriously is not animosity, just an eyebrow raised. again, its nothing against Professor Jolie. she is going to give those students an incredible learning experience. but its also okay to give our own hard earned degree a nod.
Are all of you as upset that Hague will be going by the same title that is standard for this guesting position (thank you, Sixer)? Or just that AJ will be?
I think there’s someone from Amnesty also joining, Nota.
For anyone still unsure, this is the blurb for Jolie’s position from the LSE itself:
“The Visiting Professor in Practice title is for those who have appropriate distinction within their area of practice without having sufficient academic distinction. It includes individuals who may have achieved prominence in public life, or who have attained distinction in their profession. The appointment carries no emolument. Persons who are granted Visiting Professor in Practice status can use the LSE Library and can become members of the Senior Common Room. The School is not normally able to offer Visiting Professors in Practice any office space or secretarial assistance.”
I think this makes it perfectly clear. The position is not paid and is not academic but is conferred on people who can give context and real world experience that will help students studying on an academic course that is taught by academics.
She’s doing a good thing. She’s been given a courtesy title for doing a good thing. Even so, perhaps LSE could think of a better courtesy title that wouldn’t make hackles rise among actual academics?
notasuagerhere –
Considering Hague actually RAN the UK for four years as the PM, and has a wealth of background in Politics Economics and Foreign affairs ( including STUDYING economics and got a First) then why on earth would anyone be upset that he gets the same title – she is an actress with a sideline in promoting issues in the third world – that’s IT. She aint all that – Hague is streets ahead and always will be…
How ridiculous…
Matilda, William Hague was NEVER prime minster of the UK.
Matilda, William Hague was never PM.
He has had a variety of govt jobs, but never made it to PM.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hague
Again, Matilda. Hague doesn’t have the degree either, he has an MBA not a PhD.
Are you upset that this title is applied to anyone who is in that position? Or are you just upset because Jolie is being called by the same title as all people filling this position?
not to grasp at straws but doesn’t Jolie have no formal education- like not even an undergrad. I mean, both she and Hague are under qualified by various metrics but she is especially without formal qualifications
to all those pple who are grousing abt angelina jolie being a visiting professor there are lots of other pple who may not have the same academic qualifications as those who slogged hard to get their degrees. does that mean that their work and life experiences are not as important? yes angelina jolie does not have the numerous degrees but what she does is raise the profile of what ishappening – she has been doing this work for years – and i certainly hope that pple are not bashing her because she is an actress – by that logic bill gates doesnt have a degree either cos he dropped out to do something he loved – and now he is a well known crusader for lots of things. angelina wanted to do films and has been very successful and made lots of money but now being older and having kids of her own she probably wants to move behind hollywood – is that wrong? i think it is admirable for those who have slogged and got their degrees but why single out angelina for having money she worked hard for to do something worthwhile in her life. she made her choices just like everyone else
Is Angelina prepared to be a professor? Or it’s just because of her famous name?
See Sixer’s response, above.
Hey SIXER, right… So in the U.S. They are assistant, associate and full professorships. I’m an academic, having spent my research and teaching years in the UK and the U.S. (and other parts of Europe) and these positions are equivalent in the tenure track process to lecturer, reader and professor in the UK. And indeed, in the U.S. a lecturer title is not the same as the one in the UK.
In my field, Physics, there is no way someone without a Phd can be a guest speaker even. But clearly the humanities and social sciences are different, where knowledge can be gained via real life experiences.
If she is lecturing in her field of expertise ( refugee advocate, UNHCR representative, human rights), I guess that her over 10 years of being involved and acquiring practical knowledge enables her to give lectures.
Then Good for her, she is growing professionally.
It’s just because of her famous name. There are plenty of people who’ve done a lot more work for refugees than she has.
If a parent is under investigation for child abuse the particular parent can’t see his/her children until the investigation is over and the kids have to remove from their home that the rule of CPS when investigating a child abuse and I think that why angelina took the kids from their home, I think the kids are lucky their mother took them or else they will have been place in another home without both parents
That is not true. At all. CPS doesn’t go around breaking up families due to minor (in CPS eyes – they see much worse constantly) ALLIGATIONS. That don’t disrupt kid’s lives by throwing them into foster care at a moments notice. If CPS told Brad he couldn’t be with the kids it would be all over TMZ. Using kids (that probably want to see their father) as pawns is bad PR. Wasser would have passed that info to TMZ pronto.
They face a lot of criticism from not doing enough children have died in homes under investigation or people move out of state once CPS starts talking to them because that info isn’t easily passed across state lines. There was a high profile case recently that a judge order the children into protective custody during the course of the investigation because this was the fourt or fifth state to begin an investigation only to have them move states a go back to flying under the radar until neighbors there reported it.
From their site:
http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/cdssweb/PG93.htm
The CPS is the major system of intervention of child abuse and neglect in California. Existing law provides for services to abused and neglected children and their families. The CPS goal is to keep the child in his/her own home when it is safe, and when the child is at risk, to develop an alternate plan as quickly as possible.
When a referral is received, the social service staff obtains facts from the person making the referral to determine if the referral alleges abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The Emergency Response staff determines if an in-person response is indicated. Whenever an report indicates the need for protection, CPS will:
Accept the case
Intervene in the crisis, if required
Apply Family Perservation and Support Services for some families
Assess or identify problems, gather facts and clarify the problems
Plan and provide services, set goals, identify resources and timeframes
Document the case
Terminate the case or transfer it to another program
Approximately 12 months of services are provided to children who remain safely in the home while the family receives services. If it is determined that a child cannot remain in the home, even with family preservation and support services, then foster placement is arranged in the most family-like setting, that is located close to the parent’s home, consistent with the best interests of the child.
Up to 18 months of services are provided to children and their families when a child has been removed from the home and the family is making progress toward reunification. When a child cannot be returned to a safe home after services have been delivered, the child must be provided with a family-like living arrangement as soon as possible.
Agree. Also, why would Angelina not take them if Brad was told he could not see them? That makes no sense at all.
yes, he would have visitation with a supervisor or something like that. It is over two weeks since he has seen his children…but with all that pizza and goodies and talk from Mom about how scary Daddy is they may not want to see him. This would be the saddest part of the story if you ask me.
Who says she’s telling them how scary daddy is? That’s grossly unfair. For all you know, she’s telling them daddy needs some time to take care of himself and feel better, and the nice people that have talked to them think it would be better for everyone for a while to be in different homes.
Though I wouldn’t blame her for saying, “Daddy had a tantrum and has to stay in time-out till he calms down.”
That’s not true. She didn’t have to take them away to avoid losing them. It takes a lot to lose your children. She may have her reasons for leaving with them, but there is no way the system was threatening to out these kids in foster care.
I really don’t know how child protective services works (Thank God) but, if anyone knows, wouldn’t Brad, at least, be able to have supervised visits with the kids during the investigation?
Usually. I worked in a private child welfare agency that had close contact with CPS for many years and that is usually how they work. So it raises two questions: 1) has Brad tried to see the kids, and 2) do the kids want to see Brad? Maybe everybody needs a cooling-off period.
And 3) did Brad go somewhere to dry out?
Unless something way worse than what we heard and it was a chronic situation they could live with them. They have to get a court order to keep parents away from their children.
http://dcfs.co.la.ca.us/faq.html#14
Does a report mean a child will be taken away?
NO! Most reports of child abuse do not result in children being removed from their families. The first goal is to enable the child to remain safely in higher own home.- If this is not possible, the social worker must remove the child from the home and place him/her in . a foster home. If it is necessary in order to protect the child, the child welfare agency also is authorized to arrange emergency, temporary foster care.
back to top ^
Are children taken away forever?
California has strict rules about removal of children from families. However, because children are vulnerable, the law also affords them significant protection. Peace officers are authorized to take an endangered child into protective custody place the child in the care of the child protection agency.
This initial emergency removal is allowed by law without a warrant for 48 hours, not counting holidays and weekends. Should the child protection agency decide that the child cannot yet return safely to the home, the agency must immediately ask the Superior Court, Juvenile Division, to hold a hearing to determine if continued removal is necessary.
She will teach how to steal a man and then Derain him dry.
Women like you give other women bad names.
Wow.
“Derain”? Ignorance and illiteracy are a really terrible combo.
So much acid feelings.
This show you insecurity, no one can steal a human being
I didn’t know you can “steal” a human being since slavery was abolished.
So much personal projection, so little time.
As I mentioned on the previous post – I think Brad & Angelina are working together in private for an amicable solution.
I don’t believe those leaks are from either parties. These two are intelligent enough to know they cannot smear each other in public and still be good for their children.
Why do they have to make it seem like she’s ghosting him. She and the kids CAN’T have contact with him while he is being investigated.
Even in an ongoing investigation, you have a choice. She clearly still feels like he is a danger or a threat or the kids don’t want to see him. I don’t know.
I find it so sad, this level of animosity between the two of them. I know she’s probably done, and maybe she was scared and maybe the kids are scared, but to start a divorce this way has just got to take an incredible amount of courage and moxie. I hope she is really thinking about the kids and the long term affects of a smear campaign like this. Of course it’s all for the better if the household was volatile.
I just never, ever expected that between the two of them we’d see such disgusting garbage in a contentious divorce. Not because they’re perfect, but because they both equally seemed to love and protect their kids.
There hasn’t been that much animosity, but there has been an absence of accord. She hinted politely at something happening, because something did happen and that something went public. And he was surprised and said, “Hey, I didn’t think it was that bad!” and then said she pushed his buttons, which confirmed for most thinking people that it was that bad.
She didn’t call him names and he didn’t call her names; the rest is made up by tabloids to make money off someone’s pain.
Mr & Mrs Smith
Not true. I had CPS falsely called on me and I was still able to watch my grandchildren until they made their decision. There has to be something really bad for him not to have contact with the children. Remember, all these stories are coming from “sources” not from Brad or Angie themselves. Maybe they are keeping everything private and he could have seen the children without anyone knowing. They are pretty good at keeping things private and letting out what they want let out.
I’m not ‘team anyone’ in this race, but I will say I think they both look bad and hope all this drama doesn’t mess with the kids too bad. Poor Maddox was basically blamed for the divorce a few days ago.
Uhm..I’m sorry Why was it even a question that she’ll cancel this “lecturing gig”?…Further more I don’t believe an ounce of the rumors that Brad has an issue with her UN work…Brad knew the woman she was & wNted to be early on in the relationship & they’ve been a “a team”about it..I doubt that will change & quite frankly I doubt Brad will counterfile…in my mind lol..I believe he knows he was in the wrong and call me stupid/naive or whatever I believe they’ll work this out
But how come she is a professor? Are the rules different to simple people struggling to make it in academics and celebrities?
She can’t be a professor. Guest lecturer is a better description.
It’s very common in UK universities. A bit like when well-known people/celebrities with no academic qualifications get an honorary Doctorate.
That is so unfair. I go though blood and tears to get a degree. And I am not a millionaire which would allow me to just focus on getting a degree. Just like most people struggling to remain in the education system despite crappy salaries.
i believe people magazine but the rest is crap because tabloïds (NE, star, radar, daily mail, ….) are playing mr and mrs Smith since 2005 : angie vs brad vs Jennifer vs charlize vs amal vs sandra
I vaguely recall Oprah teaching a class at a university in Chicago years ago,what’s the difference?
I taught at least one class as a guest and I’m neither Oprah nor Angelina Jolie. Sometimes a mix of experience and education makes one qualified to educate, at least to a limited extent.
I really don’t understand how she is qualified to be a professor.
Fame and money, lol. I’d declare myself a professor of rocket science but I have neither of those things.
That story in page six may be garbage, but there is no denying that Brad Pitt was scorch earthed by that initial statement that the divorce was for the health of the family and because Brad had anger and substance issues as well as an incident on the plane. That statement came from Angelina’s manager. No denying that fact.
Everyone, me included, jumped to the extreme wrong conclusion because of that statement especially because the divorce was (seemed) sudden and went from loving to divorce bypassing mediation.
Something this public has to be dealt with publicly otherwise his reputation is at stake.
And if he is smearing publicly her in revenge, she should fight back to regain her reputation. It’s too late to put the genie back in the bottle.
Sadly, this divorce was never going to be a quiet one based upon their celebrity, BUT they have managed to have life events without inviting the media into their lives until after the fact and this is where they went wrong in commenting publicly on the divorce thus creating a bigger circus than necessary.
I still don’t understand why she went about it so publicly, ie with the timing and initial statements. If, as Lainey says, she is a master media manipulator, I can only assume it is about wanting sole physical custody. Very sad for the kids, though.
Because The Incident was witnessed by outsiders. If this was the last straw in a lengthy decline AND it was going to go public without their control? If they had gone with “conscious uncoupling” after the plane incident, FBI, child services were already in the news cycle? She would have been attacked by many for letting him get away with it, hiding what really happened, etc.
“Everyone, me included, jumped to the extreme wrong conclusion because of that statement especially because the divorce was (seemed) sudden and went from loving to divorce bypassing mediation.”
How do you know it went from loving to divorce and bypassing mediation?
I think you are still jumping to the wrong conclusions.. You don’t know whats been going on in that marriage. Lets just leave it at that.
That’s exactly my point, Leah.
We don’t know.
Yet until the divorce filing, we were fed an image of happy, tight, long term relationship. PR images and tactics aside, there was plenty of evidence that this was indeed the reality. And these two have maintained a water-tight ship as far as leaking from their camp for the past 12yrs. We were shown what they wanted us to see and yet unusually it appeared to be mostly true give or take afew mis-steps.
The divorce filing seemed sudden, and listed official separation as a week before the filing. That is highly unsual in terms of divorce filings. If, as an example, date of separation were listed as six months ago, the obvious conclusion would be that they had some sort of cooling off period that may have included mediation – my assuption that all separated couples undertake – before deciding that divorce was the better option like Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts did.( i know that Liev and Naomi weren’t married, but point stands)
From the outside looking in, this looked sudden and so toxic that they went straight to divorce, especially when the airplane incident was announced as being the cause of such a sudden de-coupling.
Because the statement and the separation date made it pretty clear. If you declare your marriage over and state it was over one particular incident people are naturally going to assume whatever happened was REALLY bad and you exited quickly without any possibility of reconciliation. Filing for physical custody also suggests this incident was impossible to forgive and there is no working past it. No parent is going to react well from being blindsided from a filing like that unless they simply don’t care about there kids. Having your partner of 11 years say you are not a fit parent has to hurt. Even more so when it is done in a high profile and public manner.
Lindsay I agree with what you say, Initially I disagreed with the “high profile and public manner” bit, since it is not her fault that the documents were leaked and carried by so many media outlets – it seems to be unavoidable in LA. But, the day of the week, the timing and the rapid onslaught of Bad Brad stories do suggest a PR campaign as opposed to a sad necessity. If he does have issues and she does need to keep him from the kids for a while, then there are better ways to do it, especially for a woman with her resources, who is apparently a master media manipulator and has dealt with her own and Brad’s press for many years. I personally believe she attempted to dent or destroy his golden boy image, because if they fought over custody the public would otherwise be firmly on his side. None of this means she doesn’t deserve to get full custody, she really might have very good reasons for keeping him out of the children’s lives, but this media stuff will not help her at all in a courtroom. So for me, this is about PR.
@LAK, actually, I do think the tactics here do more resemble British politics that quiet HW “fixing” a la conscious uncoupling.
Now that you mention it, they do.
Sorry about the garbled grammar…
I’m anticipating a pivot this week when she realizes this could lead to very unpredictable outcomes. If not, I’m open to “theories.”
I blame both for handling this divorce so poorly when as you say Lak, they’ve managed to keep large events away from media glare before. I blame her more than him actually since she started the ball rolling with all the innuendos about his anger and alcohol issues and the incident on the plane. This was before he started leaking his side of the story. All he said on the first day is that he is sad.On day 2 he was having an affair and had left another woman pregnant (nothing to do with Angelina) and on day 3 he was a child abuser. Of course he’d try to defend himself.
I am so dissapointed in them both, him more so for getting drunk and pushing Maddox and her for taking this public. I don’t buy for a second that DCFS or the FBI would have leaked any details so all this talk about how this would have been discovered when he doesn’t have a history of drunk behavior or abuse has no legs imo. Did you ever think they would divorce because of abuse? I certainly didn’t and I have followed them very closely.
@LAK
I think this has been handled badly, but has many factors we don’t know about. I do think AJ yearns for serious recognition, and failed to get that through her directing. Btw, I think BJ supported these efforts. Enter the two Tory political advisers, and from my understanding it is through Helic AJ has gotten this gig at LSE. And she was instrumental in the Dame hood. Potent things for AJ. Probably a close friendship and talks where all things seem possible, and reality is not checked. I do believe AJ had visions of important UK work and wanted to take the kids. I also believe marital discord was high for many, many reasons. AJ chose to have Helic as mentor, which is none of my business, but they navigate in different worlds. Maybe both were starstruck. We don’t know if other outside forces had a hand in tipping the scales, or even what happened. We don’t know if AJ would come off clean if they investigate, or whatever they uncover if a custody fight is down the line. It can have been many factors, an impetuous decision to file and no real thought to consequence and now perhaps a certain buyer’s remorse.
For spin purposes, for both parties, it would seem logical to put a certain blame on outside forces, such as Helic, if they do indeed try to salvage something from this wreckage. This said, I don’t put any blame on Helic. I am cynical enough to see that both AJ and BP could agree to officially explain away most of this as due to outside interference. Without reuniting as couple.
She isn’t going to relocate to London for the post of visiting professor. She is just a visiting professor and won’t be part of the day to day scenario. She will fly in to give a lecture. This isn’t a big deal.
Why are people taking this professor title so seriously. She created the course therefor she can guest lecture & learn in workshops, which is the description of what she will be doing. Not an actual professor who grades. She will be there a couple of times a year. Two or three days out of the year is not her relocating to london & causing custody problems. We still don’t know what the family are doing right now.
Because of comments like that. She did not create the course. She provided her name and public profile to help launch it. This is a top school, the people working on program curriculum were highly educated and experienced in education and international conflict humanitarian efforts. There are a lot of people going uncredited because they are not famous. Also, the title of Professor differently in the UK. It is a very hard to get title, requiring decades of study and work, because of who she is she gets to bypass all that.
Professors in the UK are too senior to do any grading!
She simply has a courtesy title, as outlined above.
l love pizza! But if I shell out 95000$ for a rental, I”ll also hire a retinue of amazing chefs!!
She can contribute to the workshops given her experience visiting refugee camps although she must always have been in a secure bubble for safety reasons, still she must have a wealth of stories from these visits.
But for teaching, shouldnt’t she be teaching maybe direction…even if her films didnt make money, surely she picked up technical knowledge for directing..some course about film making given her longer film career and her heart being behind the camera according to her….If I were a student, that would be more convincing to me…It is very hard to get into LSE, I wouldn’t want a professor -visiting or whatever without the hallowed academic credentials or actual frontline experience like an actual aid worker or a doctor without borders medical staff or whatever.
It’s really hard yo get into the LSE, BUT as far as granting favours to celebrities, they have no leg to stand on – see Saif Gaddafi’s time at the LSE.
LAK – Thank you for teaching me something new. Oh My God..I can’t believe what I just read on Wikipedia..they gave Gaddafi a PhD and Mandela’s hat, no less!! Whoa…
And his PhD thesis title “The Role of Civil Society in the Democratization of Global Governance Institutions: From ‘Soft Power’ to Collective Decision-Making?”
HAHAHHAHAH ..this is tragically funny.
Angelina as a guest professor then is small potatoes compared to this.
LSE was also given a large sum of money by papa Gadaffi to accept Saif (and to pass him with distinction!)
The Gaddafi thing was an actual scandal! This Jolie thing is not in the least bit scandalous.
It is not an actual job. She will not be teaching. If outlets would just stop saying that she will be teaching and simply said she will be giving a lecture or two about her experiences in humanitarian work to some Master’s students, all would be well.
I really like Angelina, but I’m side-eyeing this elevation of some guest lectures to a professorship.
One thing about abuse. I don’t practice it on my kid because I was on the receiving end of it and I didn’t learn a damn thing every time it happened. So I don’t think it works. I’m talking about the “smack the bottom of your child to discipline him/her” and not the beat him up til he bleeds stuff. Because to me there is a difference though others may not see it that way. My parents usually went for the face/upper body when I got older. The last time it happened it was maybe middle school.
I didn’t grow up in the US and my generation (35) there’s hardly any kids who haven’t been smacked at one point by either parent or both. I didn’t grow up traumatized and I love my parents to pieces for all of the amazing things they’ve done for me, but also don’t think it’s effective. To be honest, in this whole deal I am more dissapointed in Brad that he allowed himself to get drunk in front of the kids than push one of them out of the way. I have a very close close friend who grew up with a drunk father. He wasn’t violent but he was the falling down drunk/chatty type and it made her so embarrassed. To me losing control and screaming to the mother and allowing your children to see you drunk is much more unforgiving. I hope he has apologized in private. I don’t need to know that he did but I hope he did.
People have already diagnosed Brad as an addict who requires rehab. Ridiculous. He may have been drunk and yelled but parents often yell in front of children. No one knows if this was a one off incident or not. No one knows if Angie was yelling as well. So much has been made of one incident and is automatically vilified and a branded as a drunk.
Angie should have not have released the ambiguous statement about the family and kept their business quite, Period.
And how do you not know that she was not covering for him for a long time?
If she’s been covering for him, I would think that would be all the more reason to want to keep things more quiet and have it appear more amicable.
I thought the same. I have made mistakes in times of stress and would hate to think everyone would ignore my usual behavior and assume that I was this bad person.
His marriage and family is falling apart. That causes some people to self medicate and sometimes freak out. Angie has praised him as an incredible father for years. Hard for me to just jump on the train of him being a drunk and an abuser.
We will see how it all plays out over the next couple months.
And I want to add, I cannot believe these two let it end like this. I figured if they ever split it would at least appear amicable like goop and Chris. Never would have believed they would have blown up everything they worked on all these years.
@JMO – Of course so much has been made of this incident; it’s a really big deal. Do you have kids?
Can you imagine your spouse being drunk or high and speaking to you in a way that your oldest child felt they needed to intervene? What if your spouse then began screaming at that oldest child in a way that necessitated that you intervene? Now imagine your youngest child witnessing this and how scary it would be. Can you imagine how that youngest child would feel if this all took place on airplane where there was nowhere to hide or run and didn’t know when the plane would land?
The behavior that Brad has confirmed is a huge deal for his children that witnessed their father’s behavior. Even if it was a one time incident. (Which makes it much scarier for the kids in my opinion – because it’s the instant where the child’s trust and security is shattered.)
Anyone who says it’s not a big deal either doesn’t have kids or has such low standards for their mental health that it makes me question their parenting.
Angelina also talked in her interviews, even before Brad, how she felt terrible when her father would yelled at her mother. She said that she always felt that she had to stand up for her, defend her and that she would never allow her child to go through something like that. Maybe this was a traumatic event for everyone, and kinda déjà vu experience for Angelina that made her react that way.
That is a lot of projecting on one incident with limited statements.
Angie also stated her relationship wasn’t perfect and they too, argued, like couples do.
He was definitely wrong, if what has been reported is true, but she is not some fragile flower who needs protecting.
Love her suit in top pic w/The Queen.
Just bc CPS has opened a case, legally- does AJ have the right to keep BP from seeing the Children. Not so sure about that. Pitt has most likely been advised by his own council to back off everything after the filing and reports of Airport incident, arguement and even some of his own admissions.
The public will probably never truly know every finite detail of what REALLY went down on that airplane or throughout the entire union for that matter either. There will always be speculation and innuendo and just BS.
The only two that know are Angelina and Brad and the children. I’m team no one but those children and I don’t believe either parent initially handled this the correct way. Then again, Angelina must have had her reasons for taking such a drastic step to serve those papers so quickly. Still cannot wrap my head around BP being an abusive parent or partner. Again, who really knows how he behaves behind closed doors. Or AJ or Maddox as well. Maddox is 15! It is adolescence for crying out loud. Any parent who has raised a child is aware that literally anything can and will happen when it involves a teenager.
@Pix, yes I do have children and if he was high and drunk, I imagine the children would be scared. Do I think this one event would shatter them for the rest of their lives, no.
You can questions my mental health and parenting but again, judgement without all the facts, is pointless.
We weren’t there and don’t know how this all went down. My point was this should have been kept private, Maddox should never have been named as the child in the conflict. That to me would be good parenting.
JMO… I agree with what you are saying. An incident like this would be scary for the kids but it isn’t going to traumatize most kids. And I doubt this is the first time they’ve heard them fight.
I really admire anyone who is a parent and hasn’t had a fight that their children have heard. I would say that is the exception and not the norm.
My parents fought and at the end of the day I just realized they are human beings and as I got older I understood. Is it the best scenario? No, but we live in an imperfect world and not even Brad and Angie are perfect.
Di your parents argue or did they fight ?
Sorry, but even with my ex at his worst, I always managed not to fight.
My sister has a pretty passionate relationship with her husband and while they do argue, when it’s get heated and let’s say, nasty, they always remember to keep the children away; And no, they do not fight.
Yes, children are resilient and this will not shatter their lives. But, people get broken and it’s the small things that add up to a damaged adult. (Angelina is a perfect example.) You are right that Maddox should not have been named and this should not have been made so public. It’s dirty. However, I do take issue with people who brush the incident aside as no big deal.
Brad exited the plane and tried to drive off in the fuel van; presumably while his children watched. As a parent, I wouldn’t know how to explain or excuse their father’s behavior, other than to say daddy’s sick and he needs help. I’m someone who’d likely file papers that week if he refused to get help.
You are right, we have no idea what really went down, but i’m going to side with the parent who removes her children from the situation for “the health of the family.”
At this point I don’t believe he tried to drive off in the fuel van. This video would have been released and he should have been arrested on the spot. We don’t know if he needs and/or refused help.
Personally, I am over both of them. I always thought he was as about as deep as a puddle and was incredibly lucky to have the career he does. As for Angie, she has an eating disorder.
Also, have boundaries and structure for your children has proven to be very healthy and beneficial. Giving them both the benefit of the doubt that their children have outside friends with rooted relationships.
I agree with you JMO. I feel sad for Maddox most of all. Not having had a fight with his dad so much as him being seen as the reason for the divorce. How the heck is that fair to put on your child. Seems very reactive to me. Like, go ahead with the divorce. But do it appropriately do the kids don’t feel like they had a hand in it. But perhaps this helps with the custody situation. No idea.
Still want them to get back together 😢. Becoming less hopeful by the hour though…
‘Stupid story is stupid’. @Kaiser the notion that Helic and Dalton were behind the smear stories against Brad last week is kinda ludicrous, but the fact that Jolie/Wasser and her team were is not. They leaked like crazy the day of and first days after her filing. He’s leaked in return but it definitely seems to mercifully have died down. Maybe they will lock it down from here out.
It does seem fair that if Angelina has to travel to London for some length of time for her work then the kids could be with her, same as they’ve been with their father off and on during his filming. What is up for debate is her taking them to war torn areas like Lebanon or Syria – those are spots for adults like herself, not children.
I feel like I’m missing something. Why is it an issue for Angelina to be a guest lecturer in London? It isn’t any different if she or Brad are shooting a movie. This is a non-story considering it’s a year from now. I also don’t understand why people are whining that Angelina is lecturing. Visiting Professor is just a title. I will never understand the extreme hate Angelina gets. Plenty of famous and non-famous people have been guest lecturers at a lot of universities. Weird that people only have venom for Angelina.
My husband is leaving me. We have a 17 year old daughter.
He is having an affair. He is moving out this weekend.
The whole thing is awful awful awful awful awful.
Right now, he is feeling sorry for himself. My girl is devastated. AND HE IS FOCUSED ON HIMSELF.
Whatever the kids needed IS what Angelina Jolie did at that moment, which was a thousand other moments as well. We will NEVER know what really happened. But I do not judge a mother for protecting her children.