Everybody has chimed in about Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy at this point, and from a celebrity perspective, it’s been all-positive, although I’m waiting to see how the tabloids and/or Chelsea Handler spin this. Brad Pitt issued a statement hours after Angelina’s NYT op-ed came out, and most celebrities have tweeted well-wishes and positive thoughts to Jolie. And now Brad’s mom Jane has issued a statement! James Haven too.

After she revealed she underwent a preventative double mastectomy, Angelina Jolie’s family members are voicing their support.

“We’re so very proud of Angie, this means so much to our family especially our grandchildren. We love her dearly,” Brad Pitt’s mother, Jane Pitt, says in a statement.

Jolie’s brother, James Haven, also spoke out about her decision to undergo the procedure.

“My sister like our mother always put her children first,” he says in a statement. “I am so grateful to be her brother.”

In a New York Times op-ed piece, Jolie describes her difficult choice to have surgery after genetic tests showed her to have a high risk of developing the disease. Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died of ovarian cancer at 56 in 2007.

Jolie, 37, also expressed how much she leaned on Pitt, 49, whom she described as “loving and supportive,” and there for her “for every minute of the surgeries.”

Pitt released a statement of his own on Tuesday, saying, “Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie’s choice, as well as many others like her, absolutely heroic. I thank our medical team for their care and focus.”

[From People]

See? Despite Jane Pitt’s super-conservative politics, she and Angelina still get along really well. Angie and Jane have spent a lot of time together over the years, with Brad’s parents coming out to support Angelina’s films, and Jane in particular coming out for some lovely happy-family photo-ops. There really isn’t any drama (or at least not the kind of drama the tabloids claim there is). As for James Haven… he barely ever issues public statements anymore. I don’t even know what he’s up to at this point. Idly, I wondered why Jon Voight hadn’t piped up in the first hours after Angelina’s announcement, but The Mail claimed (at first) that Voight already knew about the double mastectomy and that he’s “been immensely helpful in the last month.” But they have a new story saying that Voight wasn’t told and that he found out when everyone else did.

Meanwhile, The Mail has an “exclusive” story about how Brad and Angelina are determined to marry “sooner rather than later” after this medical ordeal, but the story is mostly a hodge-podge of older quotes, mostly from Brad. A source claims: “Angie is keen on a wedding and the kids are clamouring for a marriage and keep asking Brad and Angie when it’s happening. Brad has been caught up in production turmoil with his new film World War Z, so there’s been no wedding planning as a result, but Angie has said it will happen sooner rather than later. They are all for all intents and purposes married, but it’s become clear that it’s important to them to make it official.” Apparently, they’re not so sure about getting married at Chateau Mirval, and Angelina is angling for maybe a Bosnian or a Cambodian wedding.

Oh, and I just saw this – Angelina covers the new issue of People Mag (they must have put this together yesterday). You can read the online excerpt here. There’s a piece of new information – sources claim Angelina is going to have her ovaries removed at some point to bring down her chances (50%) of developing ovarian cancer.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Here are some photos from the past year of Angelina Jolie looking lovey-dovey and super-friendly with Brad Pitt’s mother Jane Pitt. Jane, as we found out earlier this year, is a bit of a hyper-conservative wingnut. Which is fine. To each their own, etc. While Jane’s son Brad is a self-described liberal who believes in gay marriage and all of that jazz, we still don’t really know where Angelina stands on many issues. She sees herself as a diplomatic figure, so she really doesn’t come out for or against many polarizing issues, and I’ve long suspected that Angelina is closeted neoconservative. So what’s the big deal? Star Magazine is trying to make Angelina and Jane’s “polar-opposite political views” a wedge issue that will tear the Pitt family apart! Jane is going to start calling her “Angelina Hussein Jolie”!!!

If you’re facing family drama this holiday season, you’re not alone. Angelina Jolie is squaring off against Brad Pitt’s mom – again – this time, over where the Brangelina brood will spend Christmas.

“As usual, Angie has no desire to spend her holidays in the Midwest, something Brad’s mom, Jane, finds rude and insulting. But Angie couldn’t care less,” reveals a source close to the famous couple, adding that Angie and Jane’s polar-opposite political views are the root of the discord.

“They have such different opinions on everything,” the friend explains. “Brad’s parents are extremely right-wing and religious. Angie has to bite her tongue to keep the peace.”

Predictably, Jane blames Angie for not seeing her grandchildren more often. “It’s been a sore point for Brad’s mom for years,” the insider says. “She loves to have all her grandkids together, but that rarely happens – and she says it’s Angie’s doing.”

Brad, 48, seems determined to sell his fiancée on the idea of a Missouri Christmas and even dragged her and the kids to Springfield last week. But Angelina won’t budge.

“Visits to the Pitt home have been awkward for Angelina,” our spy continues. “She says that not wanting to spend the holidays there isn’t personal, but anyone would see it as a snub.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Maybe Angelina doesn’t want to go to Missouri because she’d rather be in Kenya or Cambodia or Libya or something. It’s not like Brad’s parents NEVER get to see Angelina and Brad and their kids. The Pitts fly out to LA or London or wherever, and it seems like Angie and Brad make an effort to go to Missouri a few times a year too. I seriously doubt this is a thing. I also doubt that Jane and Angelina talk that much about political stuff.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

When I first glanced through this story in the Enquirer, I was like, “Eh, yeah right.” But the story is actually based on a factual event – Brad Pitt’s mother, Jane Pitt, bought a Bible for Angelina Jolie. Both The Enquirer and In Touch Weekly spoke to a salesclerk at a Springfield, Missouri Christian bookstore, and the salesman confirms that Jane did in fact buy a Bible, and she had it embossed with “Angelina Jolie”. Obviously, Jane Pitt is trying to bring her devilish, villainess of a future daughter-in-law IN LINE. While we now know that Jane Pitt is something of a fire-breathing conservative, I’m still having problems making the leap from “Jane Pitt is a conservative Christian lady who buys Bibles for her son’s bisexual baby-mama” to “Obviously, Jane hates Angelina and the feeling is mutual.”

Brad Pitt’s God-fearing mother Jane has ratcheted up the battle with Angelina Jolie by buying Jolie an engraved Bible as a wedding present, say sources.

“Jane bought the Good Book a couple of weeks ago to help save Angelina’s soul and bring her closer to God, but it’s turned into a disaster,” revealed an insider.

Kristopher Burnett, a sales clerk at Mardel Christian Bookstore in Springfield, Mo., told The Enquirer that he sold Jane the Bible and prayed with her for Brad and Angelina’s well-being. But after Angie heard about Jane’s prayer, she went crazy! Angelina, who was raised Catholic but adheres to no specific faith, took offense because it implied that she needed saving.

“Angelina was already furious with Jane, so this just added insult to injury,” said the insider.

Said the insider: “Angelina has always felt Jane looked down on her for a bisexual lifestyle, previous drug use and for being ‘the other woman’ in Brad’s marriage to Jennifer Aniston. If Brad doesn’t mediate soon, it’s going to totally sabotage his relationship with Angelina and his family.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

In Touch has more details about the Bible too – Jane paid $130 for it, the Bible has black leather binding, and Jane had the “Angelina Jolie” embossing done in “flowing gold script”. And Ol’ Kris Burnett spoke to In Touch too, saying, “We prayed with Brad’s mom and sister over the Bible, asking the Lord to lead the way in Brad and Angelina’s life.” Um… “asking the Lord to lead the way in Brad and Angelina’s life”?? Like the Lord isn’t already in their lives? Presumptuous.

So… does it follow that the gift of a Bible is automatically going to lead to tears, retribution, anguish and, as always, Brad sobbing in the corner? Eh. Brad and Angelina have been together for seven years. Angelina knows Jane is conservative and Christian at this point. I’m of two minds on this, actually – I think there’s a very good chance that Jane has nothing but the best, nicest intentions with this gift, and merely means to give Angelina a nice copy of the Bible, something that can passed down to her children. One the other side, I do think the gift is ripe for some bad interpretations, like Jane is passive-aggressively judging Angelina as a bad mother, as a wanton woman and as a person who presumably has her own faith and her own relationship with God already, but the relationship doesn’t count because NO BIBLE. And while I wouldn’t be upset if I (a theist with no particular belief system) was given a Bible in general, I kind of think a (new) Bible makes for a crappy, cheap wedding gift to give to your future daughter-in-law. It would be one thing if Jane was passing down a family Bible to future generations – but to get her a new one as a wedding gift? I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like the most generous gift (generous of spirit, I mean).

Oh, and the UK tabs are reporting that Angelina is pissed because Jane keeps buying girly, princess-y things for Shiloh. A source claims, “It’s well documented that Shiloh likes to dress like a boy. But Jane still insists on buying her fairy costumes and princess dresses, which Angelina finds very disrespectful.” EH. The source also says, “Brad and Angelina were devastated by Jane’s actions. They have worked hard campaigning for equality, working closely with Barack Obama. Angelina called Jane and told her she believes she’s setting a bad example for the kids.” Even bigger “eh”.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Last week, everybody went a little bit crazy over Brad Pitt’s mom Jane. Jane Pitt had written a letter to the editor (for a Missouri newspaper) in which she extolled the virtues of Mitt Romney and bashed “Barack Hussein Obama — a man who sat in Jeremiah Wright’s church for years, did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage.” Considering Brad is a well-known and vocal liberal Democrat, some of us were surprised that his mom was SO conservative, even using the “dog-whistle” wording that many die-hard Republican operatives use. Brad did not issue any kind of statement about his mom’s letter, and Brad’s brother Doug was on the Today show this week, and Doug basically said, “Eh, families can disagree about politics without it being a thing, you know?”

So, obviously, Angelina Jolie is the devil. I mean, that’s where this whole story is going! It was always going to end up there – no matter who does what or who says whatever, it’s always going to end up with “… and Angelina is the devil.” Star Magazine claims that Angelina is going to “confront” Jane about her political views, because, obviously.

Angelina isn’t happy with Brad’s mom Jane — and it’s starting to hurt their relationship!

Angelina Jolie has never been BFFs with Brad Pitt‘s mom Jane, who reportedly still stays in touch with Brad’s ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, but their relationship just took its coldest turn yet! Angelina is said to be “steaming mad” that Jane wrote a letter to The Springfield News-Ledger opposing gay marriage, and she wants her fiancé to step in.

“She has told Brad he must educate his mother,” a source tells Star magazine, “but Brad is too much of a mama’s boy.”

But wait, it gets worse.

“If Brad won’t do it, Angelina will have to take matters into her own hands and talk to Jane about how, as the mother of such a prominent celebrity, she shouldn’t be writing letters that clash with her son’s political opinions.”

The source adds that an Angelina-Jane confrontation would be devastating — and could potentially end the couple’s engagement:

“It’ll eventually end up in a huge blowout, with Brad stuck in the middle.”

[From Hollywood Life]

I really don’t get it. Angelina rarely discusses her personal politics (I really think she’s a neo-con), so why is everyone behaving like she’s some strident, in-your-face liberal? As for the whole idea that Brad’s mom should STFU because her son is a celebrity and a Democrat? That’s just dumb. This was never about “Jane Pitt is not entitled to her political opinions and she shouldn’t speak.” She can hold whatever arch-conservative opinion she wants, and she can shout them from whatever rooftop she wants. Everyone else has a right to react to her opinions, though, which is something to keep in mind in these discussions. Freedom of speech works both ways – Jane Pitt thinks President Obama is an anti-prayer, “baby-killing” lover of all things homosexual. I think Jane Pitt is an ignorant wingnut. See? Freedom of speech. I’m sure Brad doesn’t have the same opinions, and Angelina probably doesn’t either, and maybe they’ll say something, maybe they won’t. My guess is that none of Jane’s political thoughts came as any kind of SHOCK to their systems. Jane and Angelina seem genuinely close – and my guess is that when Angelina is with the Pitt family, they’re just talking about babies and grandchildren and work, not politics.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Brad Pitt has been talking about his personal politics more and more as he gets older. Brad’s a pretty solid liberal Democrat, and he seems to have made gay rights one of his most vocal causes, and he spoken about his support of Pres. Obama many times. Brad has also alluded to his childhood in a conservative household, in a conservative part of the mid-West. I always assumed that Brad was overselling the notion of coming from a Republican family considering how he turned out, but as it turns out, not so much. Not only is Brad’s brother Doug a Republican (Doug might run for office in Missouri at some point too), but Brad’s mom Jane is also a conservative Republican too. Jane Pitt just wrote a letter to the editor in The Springfield News-Leader defending Mitt Romney and calling Obama “a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage”. Obama supports the killing of same-sex marriage? Bless her dangling participle.

Jane Pitt calls the president “a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage” just months after her son reveals his support of Obama in a THR cover story.

An anti-gay letter urging Christians to vote for Mitt Romney that was printed today in The Springfield News-Leader has been confirmed by the newspaper as having been penned by Jane Pitt, mother of Brad Pitt.

The verification comes amid some confusion, as the Missouri newspaper first printed an editor’s note denying any relation between the letter writer and movie star. That was later replaced with a second editor’s note, reading, “To clear up earlier confusion, the News-Leader has verified the letter writer is the mother of actor Brad Pitt and local businessman Doug Pitt.”

The letter — itself a response to another opinion piece in the newspaper justifying Christians’ rights to refuse to vote for Romney because he is a Mormon — identifies Mrs. Pitt as “a Christian [who differs] with the Mormon religion.”

But, Pitt continues, “any Christian should spend much time in prayer before refusing to vote for a family man with high morals, business experience, who is against abortion, and shares Christian conviction concerning homosexuality just because he is a Mormon.”

Pitt goes on to write that “any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name is casting a vote for Romney’s opponent, Barack Hussein Obama — a man who sat in Jeremiah Wright’s church for years, did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage.”

Along with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt has long been an outspoken champion of gay rights. Pitt once told Ellen DeGeneres, “I’ve said that we would not be getting married until everyone in this country had the right to get married.” The two nevertheless announced their engagement in April, after seven years and six children together.

In January, Pitt said of his mother in a cover profile in The Hollywood Reporter, “She’s very, very loving — very open, genuine, and it’s hilarious because she always gets painted in the tabloids as a she-devil. There’s not an ounce of malice in her. She wants everyone to be happy.”

In the same story, the Moneyball star revealed his own support of Obama in the upcoming presidential election.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

OMG YIKES. Jane Pitt sounds like a fire-breathing conservative. Not just a “Hey, I want my favorite billionaire to have lower taxes” kind of Republican. She’s mixing it up with “Barack Hussein” and “baby-killing.” Yikes. I mean… we are not our parents’ keepers. My late father had some political views that I found embarrassing, like an undying affection for Ronald Reagan (although my dad loved Obama and voted for him too). Do I think we should judge Brad because of his mom’s views? Not really. And Jane Pitt is entitled to think and vote however she wants too. I’m merely surprised that she’s so… arch-conservative. I had no idea.

Oh, and by the way – I don’t think Angelina has ever spoken out on gay rights, has she? Brad does all the talking and all of the donatin’. Angelina’s personal politics have always been a question mark – likely by design, because with her UNHCR work, she has to work with conservatives and liberals. I’ve always suspected her personal politics are more neoconservative (for foreign policy) and libertarian (for domestic policy). It’s perfectly possible that Angelina and Jane have more in common politically than you think. And don’t come at me with “Jane hates Angelina, Jane loves Jennifer and this is why.” That’s bullsh-t.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Go ahead and yell at me, but I still don’t see the big deal about Angelina Jolie’s leg posing at the Oscars. I mean, I understand why it’s a “thing” and I think she needed to put her leg away, of course. I thought it was funny when The Descendants screenwriters teased her, but I thought that’s all it was – friendly teasing. Was she trying too hard to work the slit on her dress? Yes. But it’s Angelina. It’s not some Glee twit. Even when Angelina is “trying too hard” it’s still pretty awesome. The whole incident – and my perception of the balls-out crazy overreaction to The Leg – reminded me of the thing from the 2009 Critics Choice Awards, where everyone claimed Angelina made a bitchface when Anne Hathaway won Best Actress – go back and watch the tape with your 2012 eyes. Is that really what happened? Or are you just hungry to criticize Angelina for anything and nothing?

Anyway, Angelina decided to do some post-Oscar-catastrophe (?? RLY ??) image work. Very conveniently – oh so convenient! – Angelina was pap’d in Beverly Hills yesterday with her de facto mother-in-law, Jane Pitt, and Angie’s youngest kids, the twins Vivienne and Knox.

*jingles keys in front of audience*

You will forget about The Leg. You will stare at photos of happy Jolie-Pitt children. You will see that Angelina still has the approval of Brad’s mom. You will see that Vivienne – the child who normally looks like she’s always on the verge of a wailing temper tantrum – is happy and lovingly attached to her mother. What Leg?

Seriously, though – if Angelina was really worried about The Leg and her detractors, she would have brought out the big guns – Empress Zahara! The fact that we’re getting Viv and Knox means that she’s concerned, but she’s not putting up the Code Red: Brangelina Catastrophe siren.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Take this for what it is – a random report out of one of Britain’s tabloids, The Sun. The Sun claims that Brad Pitt’s parents, Jane and Bill, are planning on moving in with the Jolie-Pitts to help them raise their six kids. According to sources, Brad has arranged for his parents to move into a little cottage-like place on Brad and Angelina’s extensive French property. The idea behind the whole thing is that Brad is insisting that he and Angelina take some time off and just be in France for a while, for the kids. And Bill and Jane want to help, I guess, although I’m pretty sure that Bill and Jane have a pretty active life in Missouri already, so…?

THERE won’t be much chance for BRAD PITT and ANGELINA JOLIE to make any more nippers – his parents are moving in. The superstar couple are going to live in the South of France full-time – and Brad’s mum and dad, Jane and Bill Pitt, will be living there too.

Work has begun on a granny flat for them at the star couple’s £35million Chateau Miraval estate in Brignoles. The Pitt seniors will then move there from Springfield, Missouri, to help look after Brad and Ange’s six kids. Brad flew to the Chateau last week to oversee building work.

A source said: “The whole family is going to move there as soon as the renovations are done. At the moment they have six nannies – one for each of the kids – and the plan is to get rid of the helpers and rely on Bill and Jane. The annexe they will live in is an old building which used to be used as a dovecote. It’s big enough to have a sitting room, kitchen and a couple of bedrooms. It will make a lovely little cottage for them.”

As well as their daughter, SHILOH, four, and two-year-old twins KNOX and VIVIENNE, Brad and Ange have adopted sons MADDOX, nine, PAX, seven, and daughter ZAHARA, six.

The pair have always taken their brood with them as they jetted around the globe for work but all that is about to change now the kids are older. The source added: “They don’t want them dragged around the world any longer. Brad is traditional and wants them to put down roots and have friends and go to the same school, rather than constantly moving. The plan is both of them will do voiceover work in a recording studio in the chateau’s grounds. Other than that, they’ll pretty much retire from Hollywood for a while.”

Their pals JOHNNY DEPP, VANESSA PARADIS and their children LILY-ROSE and JACK live only 40 minutes away from the French bolt-hole. Johnny, who starred alongside Angelina in The Tourist, sold the idea of a simple French life to them while they filmed in Venice last year.

A source added: “Johnny said if they want a normal life they must leave LA. They all agree the time has come for them to focus on bringing up their family. They have plenty of money and they want to relax and enjoy it.”

They’ll be lucky with relationship kryptonite – the in-laws – there…

[From The Sun UK]

Well, it wouldn’t surprise me if Brad was overseeing renovations to that part of the chateau, because God knows the man loves his renovations. Maybe he even has his parents in mind for the little cottage-like thing. Or maybe that’s where Empress Zahara will plot her global domination. Every Empress needs her lair, and I would be more willing to buy that Brad was making renovations with Zahara in mind (he is her loyal minion). Unfortunately for this story, I don’t think Angelina and Brad are really taking nine months off any time soon – they both have a ton of films in various stages of preproduction.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

In Touch Weekly’s cover story this week seems extremely dated. I’m pretty sure In Touch and other tabloids have done the same story many times over the past five years, and ITW just changed the dates and a few specifics. The basics: Angelina Jolie is pissed off because… does she need a reason? Sigh. She’s always pissed off, in Tabloidville. She’s a very angry, bitter, nasty, contemptuous person, in Tabloidville. Anyway, Angelina’s “reason” for being angry this week is that Jane Pitt, Brad’s mother, still has an ongoing friendship with Jennifer Aniston. Because of this – and because Jane Pitt might be telling Aniston all about what’s going on in Brad and Angelina’s relationship – Angelina has decided that Jane should not babysit her children. Here’s an excerpt from ITW:

Angelina Jolie had initially planned to take a solo trip to Budapest to scout locations for her upcoming film — leaving all six of her kids at home with her partner, Brad Pitt, and his parents, Bill and Jane. Yet when Angelina was spotted in the Hungarian city on August 21, she had her twins Knox and Vivienne, 2, in tow. Posing for photos with the toddlers, she looked happy as could be.

But behind the scenes, a friend says, Angelina, 35, had other things on her mind. According to the friend, the main reason she took the twins to Eastern Europe was to upset Jane — whose ongoing friendship with Brad’s ex-wife Jennifer Aniston has Angelina seeing red.

“Angie strongly thinks that the past is the past, and Jennifer and Jane should let each other go because their friendship is disrespectful,” the friend explains. “Angie had been complaining to Brad that it’s weird for his mom to talk to his ex-wife, but Brad just brushed it off. So she decided she didn’t want Jane watching over the twins.”

Very close to Jen during her marriage to Brad, Jane seemed to take the place of Jen’s estranged mother. And that apparently hasn’t changed since the divorce. Another pal says Jane and Jen still talk at least once a month and maintain a very strong bond.

“Jane still thinks of Jennifer as a daughter,” says a pal. “She knows that Angelina isn’t happy about the friendship, but that doesn’t stop her from keeping Jen in her life.”

Jen, in turn, “consults Jane on everything from major purchases to romance to her career.” And Jane confides in Jen, as well. To Angelina, who has not always seen eye to eye with Jane, the friendship is like a slap in the face. Angelina feels that she — not Jen — should take precedence with his parents.

Blaming Brad’s ex even more than his mother, Angelina is intent on sending Jen a message: Keep away from my family. And she’s been sending that message through Jane. It’s making it very difficult for Jane, who “cherishes her friendship with Jennifer,” Jane has known Jen for more than 10 years and resents being asked to stop talking to her.

“They care about each other,” the friend says. “Jane has never kept it a secret. She doesn’t see why she has to cut off that connection.” And Brad tends to agree with his mother. “He thinks Jane is a grown woman and she should be able to do what she wants.”

[From In Touch Weekly]

First of all, I don’t buy this dynamic AT ALL. I think Jane probably does still talk to Jennifer, and whatever, you know? I also think that Brad’s parents probably get along with Angelina very well – Angelina has spent a lot of time with the Pitts, and everybody seems to adore the kids/grandkids. But, for argument’s sake, let’s say that ITW is on to something and that Angelina is disturbed by Jane and Jennifer’s relationship. I think that Jane has every right to still have a relationship with Jennifer. But I also think Angelina has every right to say who looks after her kids. Sure, it sounds like Angelina is using the kids as leverage with Jane… but if Jane is a blabbermouth, I could buy it. Eh.