Angelina Jolie politely declined to answer a question about her and Brad Pitt’s ongoing divorce in a new sit-down interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
While speaking with reporter Rebecca Keegan, at her $25 million Los Feliz home, the Oscar winner, 49, drew ‘firm boundaries’ around a number of subjects, including her split from Pitt and their 20-year-old son Pax’s recent, near-fatal e-bike accident.
The Maleficent star explained to the publication that years ago in Hollywood ‘you could have this messy private process and the work spoke.’
‘Now, the audience’s relationship is different. I’m trying to get used to what to share,’ she admitted after taking a long hiatus from the industry.
When asked by Keegan if it would be okay to ‘ask what the status of’ her divorce is, the actress replied: ‘No.’
Angelina Jolie politely declined to answer a question about her and Brad Pitt’s ongoing divorce in a new sit-down interview with The Hollywood Reporter; seen on August 29, 2024
Later, she opened up about having to remain in California until her and Pitt’s six children all turn 18.
The former couple share Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18 and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.
‘I grew up in this town [Los Angeles]. I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as they’re 18, I’ll be able to leave,’ she told THR.
The mother-of-six continued: ‘When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace, safety. I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be … that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here.’
After her youngest two children become legal adults, Jolie says she plans on spending ‘a lot of time in Cambodia’ and visiting her ‘family members wherever they may be in the world.’
When asked who are her close friends and who she would call at 3 a.m., the performer said she doesn’t ‘really have those kinds of relationships.’
‘Maybe it’s losing your parent young. Maybe it’s working. Maybe it’s being somebody who’s been betrayed a lot. I don’t have a lot of those warm, close relationships as much that I lean on,’ she said. ‘But I have a few, and a few is enough.’
While speaking with reporter Rebecca Keegan, at her $25 million Los Feliz home, the Oscar winner, 49, drew ‘firm boundaries’ around a number of subjects, including her split from Pitt and their 20-year-old son Pax’s recent, near-fatal e-bike accident (seen in 2015)
Jolie listed Loung Ung as one of her ‘closest friends’ and her late mom, Marcheline Bertrand, who passed away in 2007.
‘My mother was very close to me. I lost her. I’ve had a few friends over the years not be there for my family in their hour of need. I have a couple of people that I trust.’
In 2016, Jolie began doing less film work and only agreeing to take jobs that didn’t require long shoots as she focused on ‘healing’ and the end of her marriage.
While reflecting on why she waited ‘so long’ since she last acted or directed, the star explained she ‘needed to be home more’ with her kids.
‘They’re a bit older, getting more independent. I’m less needed and so able to go away for different periods of time. And they’re old enough to join me at work. It’s a new season in our lives. I’m very excited for them to be coming into their own more and more every day,’ she said of what made her feel ready to return to work.
The former couple share Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18 and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne; pictured in 2021
As for whether she has any writing rituals, Jolie noted that she usually writes ‘when everyone is asleep’ so she can focus.
Although she has a tendency to keep her personal life out of the spotlight, Jolie said ‘one of the nicest things — maybe the only nice thing — about being a public person’ is connecting with ‘other people.’
‘I realized when I came into this business, doing things like Gia or Girl, Interrupted, and I expressed so much of my madness and my pain. When people connected to it, I felt less alone. So if somebody were to talk to me about having gone through breast cancer or losing their parent, then I feel more deeply connected with another human being,’ the actress explained.
Jolie added: ‘To go into a room full of people you don’t know, and have a lot in common very quickly because somehow you’ve been in their home on the television or you made their children laugh or they know something personal, that’s really nice.’
Jolie and Pitt have been hashing out the details of their divorce for the past eight years
Jolie and Pitt have been hashing out the details of their divorce for the past eight years.
On Friday, a source close to Pitt told People that it’s ‘pretty shocking’ that the pair still ‘can’t find a resolution and finalize the divorce.’
‘A major reason for their unhappiness before Angelina filed for divorce was their frequent clashes over parenting their kids,’ the insider claimed.
The source pointed out that the stars ‘always had different approaches to life just in general’ as she grew up in Hollywood as the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand and he had a normal childhood in Springfield, Missouri.
‘This applied to the kids too,’ the source explained. ‘Brad wanted a structured life for them with a set education curriculum. Angie wanted them all to find themselves and to figure out what excited them and sparked passion.’
Ultimately, Jolie’s parenting approach ‘won’ and ‘the kids are free-spirited, super smart and artsy.’
‘Brad is very proud though,’ the source made clear.
