A few days ago, the Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff had another curiously-sourced story, but this one wasn’t about how much Hollywood “hates” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. That’s been one of Boshoff’s big storylines in the past few years, because she claims to have tons of Hollywood insider sources. As it turns out, she also has “sources” deep within Brad Pitt’s camp, and her latest was a piece positively dripping with sympathy for Pitt. It’s always fascinating to see the VENN diagram of which royals and celebrities get sympathetic coverage from certain British writers, you know? It makes sense that if you’re anti-Duchess Meg, you’d also be anti-Angelina Jolie. The backstory on this Mail exclusive is that Zahara Jolie graduated from Spelman two weekends ago, and Brad didn’t bother to show up for the graduation or congratulate Zahara or celebrate her achievement in any way. Brad believes his deadbeat-dad ways are justified because “Angelina alienated the children!” From the Mail:

Brad’s estrangement from his children: Despite his popularity with friends, colleagues and the public at large, Pitt is now completely estranged from all of his six children from his former marriage to Angelina Jolie. Not one of these young adults – their three adopted children Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, and Zahara, 21, and Pitt’s biological children Shiloh, 19, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17 – have any meaningful relationship with him, something those close to him place firmly at the feet of Jolie. Her actions, they say, mean the most desired man in Hollywood is now a total pariah to his own children. A friend confirms this state of affairs to me, saying: ‘There has been a campaign of alienation [by Jolie] which has been successful. The antagonism is huge. He has been alienated from the kids completely. It is devastating to him.’

The twins want nothing to do with him: Only the twins are under 18 and thus required to submit to court-mandated visits from Pitt – a condition of his divorce settlement with Jolie. Despite this, he’s barely seen them at all this year. That’s partly because he has been working – but also because, like the rest of his children, the twins want nothing to do with him. As they turn 18 in July, one can imagine whatever limited contact they have with their father may dry up further after that.

Team Pitt is furious that Team Jolie pointed out that Brad didn’t attend Zahara’s graduation: This story has provoked fury in the Pitt camp, with one insider telling me: ‘You can’t have it both ways – to promote a complete estrangement and then criticise someone for not going to an event when you’ve made sure that they would not be welcome. That’s not a situation which he created’. Words such as ‘evil’ and ‘manipulative’ are also thrown around when referring to Jolie. But Zahara evidently has a deep bond with her actress and humanitarian mother. Speaking at a sorority event this month, she called Jolie ‘the most selfless, loving and understanding woman’.

Brad hopes reconciliation is possible with his kids: It seems Pitt, though, has not given up hope of reuniting with all of his children, adopted and biological. A friend says: ‘He continues to hope that one day a reconciliation is possible.’ The example of Alec Baldwin, who once infamously raged at daughter Ireland that she was a ‘thoughtless pig’, is cited. That father-daughter relationship was destroyed in the fallout of a toxic divorce between Baldwin and actress Kim Basinger, but he and Ireland are now close. ‘There’s a hope that in time they will all find each other,’ I am told.

But Angelina is moving out of LA!! Sadly, though, it seems further division is inevitable, as Jolie plans to leave LA in the very near future. This month, she put her historic Beaux-Arts mansion up for sale. Purchased immediately after their split, it is on sale for a shade under $30million.

But will Brad marry Ines de Ramon?? The question at this point, then, is whether his ongoing serious romance will lead to Pitt’s third marriage. Alas, the answer is a firm ‘no’. Marriage, say Pitt’s camp, is not on the cards. Although Pitt and de Ramon are very happy, and he enjoys the ‘peace’ and ‘support’ of his ‘easygoing’ girlfriend, friends say they can’t see him getting married again or having more children. ‘He has a great partner who he appreciates but there is no rush in that direction,’ says a source.

[From The Daily Mail]

“You can’t have it both ways – to promote a complete estrangement and then criticise someone for not going to an event when you’ve made sure that they would not be welcome…” No, Brad is the one who can’t have it both ways – he can’t scream “parental alienation” every single time he acts like a dogs–t deadbeat father. Brad is the adult, the parent. I cannot imagine even the worst father in the world refusing to contact his young-adult daughter when she graduates from college. And oh, Brad might not be “welcomed” at an event, how uncomfortable! That’s still part of being a parent – showing up for your kids, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when you’re not welcomed with open arms.

Anyway, I imagine Ines is breathing a sigh of relief that Pitt doesn’t want to get married to prove something to Angelina. The real reason Brad doesn’t want to remarry is because he’s still hung up on Angelina and he’s still trying to punish Angelina for leaving him, ten years later.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.