Brad Pitt wins joint custody of kids with Angelina Jolie after judge dismisses claim he was abusive to son
BRAD Pitt has won a major victory in his split from Angelina Jolie — with a judge dismissing her claims about his behaviour and granting him joint custody of their children.
The pair, who have six kids, have been at war since filing for divorce in 2016.
There were allegations Brad, 57, had been abusive to their son Maddox, then 15, on a private jet flight from France to the US — although no charges were ever bought.
But Judge John Ouderkirk did not believe such claims and said custody of their children should be split equally.
The case has seen months of witness testimony, including from experts who interviewed the children, plus from therapists and others around the family.
A source said: “Brad is thrilled with the decision after all of this acrimony.
“All he has ever wanted was equal access to the children, who he loves very much.
“Finally, he is able to look ahead to having more time with them and he’s grateful to the judge for taking into account the huge amount of testimony which supported his claim.
“For a long time he hasn’t been legally able to spend the time with his children that he should have.”
In a lengthy ruling, the judge said 45- year-old Angelina’s testimony “lacked credibility in many important areas”.
He added: “The existing custody order must be modified, per Mr Pitt’s request, in the best interests of the children.”
It is understood Angelina is furious that the judge refused to hear directly from the children — Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and 12-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
She is now making a fresh bid to have the judge — whom the couple initially chose after he presided over their wedding in 2014 — disqualified from the case.
If successful, his ruling could be overturned.
The couple began dating in 2005 after meeting on set of their film Mr and Mrs Smith.
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They divorced with Angelina citing irreconcilable differences and were confirmed as single by a court in April 2019.
They have continued to thrash out the terms of their split after struggling to agree on childcare arrangements.
Representatives for both sides have declined to comment.
