Angelina out with Mickey Brett in Prague on 6/25/06. Credit: WENN.com
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s former bodyguard, Mickey Brett, is getting ready to release a tell-all, either in book or TV show form, and possibly both. As you might imagine, Brangelina are not amused. In fact, the book hasn’t even been released yet and the couple is already casting doubt on their former employee’s credibility and have retained a libel lawyer in anticipation.
Burly bodyguard Mickey Brett has tangled with some tough customers, but none so tough as his former clients Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Once they entrusted their lives, and those of their children, to Brett. But now that they’ve learned he’s been thinking about revealing their intimacies in a book, the star couple has come down on him with the fury of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
Pitt and Jolie, who played married assassins in that movie, have recruited some of the most fearsome libel attorneys in the U.S. and the U.K. to make sure Brett’s lips stay zipped.
Recently we obtained a proposal for a memoir and a TV show, both offering Brett’s first-person account of his years guarding the likes of Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sly Stallone and Richard Gere.
The main focus of the pitches, though, was Brangelina. Suffice it to say that Brett had fond memories of Jolie, whom he had been protecting since 2001, and less fond recollections of Pitt.Seeking comment from them, we received a bracing phone call from Marty Singer, the couple’s American litigator.
Singer alleged that Brett wasn’t a reliable source. In fact, he was a “pathological liar.” He said Brett’s lies to U.S. Immigration officials here had led to his being barred from entering this country. Singer said that only recently did Pitt and Jolie discover that Brett, who’d claimed he was a British SAS commando, never even served in the military.
Singer noted that in 1993 Brett was questioned in the murder of British tycoon Donald Urquhart, though he was later released. In 2006, Brett was arrested for assaulting a restaurant owner in Namibia. The same year, in India, he was accused of choking a photographer and arrested for roughing up and making racial insults against some parents who were trying to pick up their kids.
All told, Singer said, Brett had been convicted 11 times of various crimes.
Pitt and Jolie had repeatedly come to Brett’s defense. But they apparently came to have doubts about his style of problem-solving.
As for his book and TV proposals, Singer said Brett was bound by a confidentiality agreement. According to Singer, Brett has now stated that he’d never signed off on the pitches and that many of the yarns attributed to him were fabricated by his ghost writer.
Brett’s attorneys told us: “Our client disputes what has apparently been said by Mr. Singer, but is not in a position to comment further at this stage.”
Brett’s ghost writer, Robin McGibbon, insists that he did not embellish the bodyguard’s stories.
“Mickey was definitely going to consider a book or TV deal if the offer was good enough,” says McGibbon. But at this point, he said, “there’s not going to be any book.”
Tell-all books by former employees are just tacky, and Mickey Bretts sounds like a nut job. But if this book ever saw the light of day, it would be a huge hit and he would be a millionaire. People all over the world want to know about this couple – and Brett knows it. However, would you believe a word of it, if even half these claims from team Brangelina are true? And what’s with Brett’s dislike of Brad Pitt?
Note by Celebitchy: Mickey Brett has a long history with Angelina and it’s been rumored for some time that he was fired for failing to get along with Pitt. This guy beat up several paparazzi in separate incidents and was almost singularly responsible for Brad and Angelina’s very rough security force in Namibia when Shiloh was born. I’m not surprised that he was fired, and am more interested in the fact that Angelina kept him around as long as she did. I bet that this book never sees the light of day though.
Aw crap. I’ve been looking forward to Mickey’s tell-all since I first read about it. And yes, CB, that’s a very interesting point re AJ’s relationship with him. Damn. Now we’ll never know. A curse on libel laws! 🙁
Oh please.. there was no book to begin with.. and maybe there was nothing to tell. I’m sure there will be a lot of disappointed people.. Now wait for the conspiracy theories. I’m glad yet another stupid rumor about these people has again been proven untrue..
“A curse on libel laws!”
I thought libel was written slander. You can’t prosecute or sue for libel if nothing is written.
Stupid celebs. They think they are God. They can go out and bash a company or politician, but can’t take it themselves.
These two dips have used the press for their little pet causes, but heaven orbid someone write about their life that isn’t to their liking.
Yes, aware of that, was referring to Brett’s original book proposal and the JP’s counter move to enlist libel attorneys.
I understand that celebrities need to vigorously enforce confidentiality agreements. Otherwise any maid, nanny, driver, bodyguard, etc. could make a quick buck off them, or set them up to be blackmailed. He worked for AJ for a long time and it’s been reported that her kids called him Uncle Mickey, so as much as many want dirt on her I think if this ever sees the light of day it would be more harmful to Pitt. He also worked for Cruise/Kidman. Wait until the scientology legal machine gets involved, it will make Marty Singer look like a really nice guy.
Odd that she never bothered to do a simple background check on someone she entrusted with her own, not to mention her children’s, security.
Agree with Sakota on all points.
Sidebar: she must have boob implants. You just can’t be as painfully thin as she is yet sport these amazingly inflated and perky pair o’ puppies.
Either way the guy will walk away with some $$ and he knows it. The Jolie/Pitts will pay dearly and so will some of the others to keep any book unpublished. Confidentiality clauses, like all others, are broken all the time and the goal is cash. It’s just a matter of whether the information is jammed in the early stages via out of court settlement, or at the end of the line via book sales. One way or the other he’s probably set for life, just depends on how much and/or what he knows.
it seems like mickey only had good things to say about jolie its pitt ass he couldn’t stand… mickey also planned to tlak about nicole kidman, sandra bullock, tom cruise and richard gere
I personally think that when an employee is taken into the employers’ home and is privy to a lot of personal information just through the course of the job, there shouldn’t even BE a need for a confidentiality agreement. It should simply be law that one cannot profit by discussing the private life of a former employer. And maybe a law that says if they do spill the beans that they can be prosecuted criminally.
While these are public figures and are of course open to speculation (and God knows these two are!) they should be able to feel comfortable and relaxed in the privacy of their own home without worrying that one of their staff is going to run to the tabloids with personal information. There is a huge difference between public life and private life, and those who violate that (like this guy) are extreme losers and should not be taken seriously by anyone.
In ref to CB wondering why Angelina kept him around that long, my guess would be that she didn’t have this much press before Brad and the guy was very protective of Angelina and Maddox and it wasn’t until Brad came into the pic that he sorta wasn’t the man anymore. I bet Brad had him background check after all the scuffle with paps, India must have been the final straw. He couldn’t have known a lot since he wasn’t allowed in the States since 2001.
If there was nothing to hide, why would J/P get high priced attorneys on it so fast????Im sure he knows plenty, and they will pay plenty to shut him up..too bad..I would have loved to read that book!
I hope he publishes it. These two pretentious twits have no business saying who may or may not publish a book.
I am so fed up with Hollywood scum acting as if their activities are so sacred that they need protection.
sakota go take a chill pill
You don’t have to have nothing to hide to block someone from profiting on your privacy when they were paid to protect it. Do you honestly think that he will get a book deal to say how nice the Pitt’s are, some people on this board are already salivating on the bombshell on a book that will not be published. I don’t get how any of you here can say it’s wrong of them to block him from talking about their private lives, he was a paid employee. I hope you never have to experience a paid worker selling you out.
@Hope – good thought @ 1:11 re why AJ kept him around.
@Hope – Sense of humour failure at 1:57 re some of us salivating over the prospect of a tell-all. I read gossip for entertainment and the JPs provide endless amounts of that. Of course they’re blocking it, they’d be crazy not to and it’s an invasion of privacy. But it doesn’t stop me wanting to know why he and Pitt didn’t get on. 😉
Barnesir:
I think that people, even people who work for celebs, deserve ownership (in a sense) of their own life experiences.
The responsibility is on celebs (who profit enormously from their very public lives) to behave as they should with the knowledge that they are bringing a stranger into their home.
If it’s privacy that celebs want, then they should live privately. Do their own dirty work. Don’t bring a staff into their home and expect that the outcome can be controlled.
Anyway, if someone makes untrue claims, most likely others will pipe up to dispute them.
Well I’d say AJ probably didn’t do a background check back when she hired him she was a single woman.
Considering she had the chance to form a close bond with him for a few years before she became a mother she probably thought nothing of it and like Hope said his true character probably didn’t show until the Brangelina became huge and I’ll bet you that Mickey had a thing for Angelina so that could be why he hates Brad and is pissed about being fired too. So I’m sure he would embelish a lot of the stories to make them more scandalous making him an unreliable source but still an interesting read I’ll bet.
hmm I get moderated a lot, but I check my posts and I don’t see any offensive language in it. Can’t figure it out yet 🙂
sakota,
its not that their actions need protectiing, its that people are trying to profit after their job for someone who has been employing them is over, which is not right. this doesnt happen except for high profile people, so i can totally understand why celebs would like to preclude their staff from taking one salary while in their employ and then taking another salary after their work is completed in the form of selling information about them. regular people dont make their housekeepers or nannies sign confidentiality agreements because there is no money to be made selling secrets about you or me, or joe shmo.
i think this mikey character was a territotiral terror, guarding angie, and didnt like another man edging in on his turf and taking over the masculine role. this is clearly why he didnt get along with Brad, and im glad that they had the sense to get rid of him as his ridiculous and overbearing alpha male crap got out of control.
If I want to deduce why he didn’t get along with Brad, first will be now Brad is the man of the house not Mickey. Most fans always comment on how possessive he is with Angelina and Maddox that automatically changed when Brad came into the picture. Brad’s people are also professional so Brad won’t have stand for the aggressive way Mickey handled situation. Mickey use to leak online where they are going to be so now people are speculating he leaked the Kenya location since he picked Brad up from the airport. When he was with them paps always find out where they are going or where they are, since he was let go in 2007, they go weeks without paps finding them.
Now sure why Mickey felt threatened. Brad is likely a total pussy who would run from a physical altercation to, at the very least, save his pricey cosmetic enhancements.
Mickey will be minted and set for life, his prior employers will pay for his silence. Celebs need to be very careful if they do not want their dirty laundry out there.
Mikey was threatened because he was an employee not the boyfriend. Brad had him fired so apparently he did have something to be concerned about.
I agree with DD and Hope about how he got hired in the first place. Plus with references like Cruise/Kidman and others, he probably seemed perfect for the job.
As far as a right to your own experiences, that’s fine, but the line stops where you start interpreting my life publicly, especially if you signed an agreement not to do so. So you can say, “I did this, I felt this, but you can’t talk about what you thought you saw me do because that makes it about me.
So if an employee observes the employer engaging in criminal activities, does the employee have the right to report that?
mickey is not allowed into the U.S.
is that just rhetorical boomchak? i dont see what relevance it has to this particular case…
To me it’s quite simple – he was an employee. Most employees with a company will generally have a non-disclosure clause in their contract, stating that they cannot share information with anyone outside the organisation, without prior authorisation from their superiors to protect the workings and privacy of the company.
In this case the “company” is a human being, who has by law in most countries, the right to certain privacy.
Where an employee suspects wrong-doing by their employer they would have at the minimum the moral duty to report it – up to an obligation in certain sectors (e.g. teaching, medicine).
What they don’t have the moral right to do is to not bother with the legalities but head straight for profiting off it.
re: ” could make a quick buck off them” Yeah, it’s only okay to make a quick buck off a celeb IF you’re a celeb. Earning $50K a year to be at a celeb’s beck and call means your unentitled to do so. Even if there is no confidentiality agreement.
Mickey claimed that Angelina had an affair with a married female singer (Gwen Stefani).
It makes this more imteresting amid the rumors regarding her husband’s past relationship.
If Mickey can’t enter the US, how was he Angelina’s bodyguard for yours?
Angelina dismisses pretty easily the people around her, but she kept him for many years, so she knew of his criminal record, and liked his aggressive style.
I can see why Brad didn’t like someone so aggressive with a criminal record
(in India he pushed people near a school, so Angelina would have a clear street…).
I do happen to agree that “It should simply be law that one cannot profit by discussing the private life of a former employer”.
Ned since you are a know it all, you should know that Mickey has never protected AJ while in the U.S. try to find a picture
You’re right bit me, most ppl who were fans of Angelina and/or Tom/Nicole should know that Mickey Brett was not able to come to the US since 2001. So that romour about him having first hand account on what happened Between Pitt And Jolie on the set of M&M Smith, is absolute bullshit. He couldn’t have known since he wasn’t even in the states. Celebs who hired him only used him outside of the US.
She kept him that long because she is as nasty as he is. He seemed closer to her than any of his other clients. In any case, today or tomorrow, the truth about Brangelina will eventually come out. They are as fake as a 3 dollar bill. Notice that when the break up rumours heat up we see the elder Pitt in several photo ops.
she looks really gross
This will be the second book published about the Brange, according to the “awful truth” someone who was once close to Bradley Pitt is also writing a book about the Jolie-Pitts and it’s not a flattering view of the couple.
maybe they can print it on slices of balony and feed it to angelina… fuking wench…
i’m feeling particularly irritable today hehe… i feel like these stupid stars are mocking us… the fatter america gets, the skinnier stars get… i might just be going crazy though :p…
seriuosly… if i see one more star looking like a leftover turkey carcass, i’m gonna cut a bitch… :p
Um… why would you hire a body guard who was so out of shape? Wouldn’t you want a sexy muscle man? I would 😀
Ange is mentally unstable. she has a penchant for violence… my guess is she liked his style.
I hope he brings out the book.
After these past few years of hearing about their impending sainthood, it’ll be refreshing and relieving.
She had this criminal around her son Maddox for so many years and is now upset over it. Utterly hypocritical and I suppose she enjoyed seeing people shoved out of the way so she could walk. This creep pandered to her ego and now that Brad does that I suppose she no longer needs him.
“If it’s privacy that celebs want, then they should live privately. Do their own dirty work. Don’t bring a staff into their home and expect that the outcome can be controlled.”
Besides, it’s only recently that Jolie has decided to pretend she is now a homespun lady to the manor born with her Mother Teresa charity committments.
The reason I am so irritated at this is that they’ve been splashed all over the papers, had every drop of press they’ve soaked out of this and now that they might start getting some nastier press from an employee go figure they start getting worked up.
I hope the other book is humiliating for them. I’ll buy it too.
Sakota, I think I love you.
No Nasty Press GMAFB She has been accused of hating Shiloh,sleeping with her brother,being a drunk, being a heroin addict, having hepatitis, killing animals,sleeping with every man and woman she’s worked with, collecting kids… Pitt is the one with no negative press
Im not sure how a ghost writer could even get involved once a Confidentiality agreement was signed. Is he denying that a book deal was shopped around, or that a confidentiality agreement was ever produced?
This deal is going nowhere I bet now that his history has been revealed.
@ Sakota – completely agree!
another instance of their hypocrisy… pap images of their kids all the time, then Brad takes Maddox out atv-ing without a helmet, gets critized, and threatens to sue anyone who prints the pictures!