Brad Pitts Pain: Angelinas Weaponized Children

Splashed across a newspaper in bold black and white lettering are two of 's kids' last attempts at legally severing ties with their famous father once and for all.

'Petitioner Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Marley Jolie,' a notice published in the Daily Journal read.

Another public notice submitted by Pitt's eldest son stated, 'Petitioner Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to Maddox Chivan Jolie.' Each notice ran respectively four times in the paper from June 10 through July 7. 

The filings are a requirement of the legal name change process in California, meant to prevent fraudulent activity and give anyone who objects the petition ample time to 'show cause' for 'why the petition should not be granted.'

Pitt, the Daily Mail was told, feels his hands are tied, and an objection would only make things worse. 

'He's always going to respect his kids' choices at the end of the day,' one source said, adding that 'any parent intentionally excluded from their children's lives as punishment is obviously going to be upset by it.'

The breakdown in Pitt's relationship with Zahara, Maddox and their siblings has been years in the making, but those closest to the family remain deeply divided over why. 

To start, one must go back to Pitt's tumultuous relationship with their mother, Angelina Jolie. The exes were involved in a grueling eight-year divorce battle that was finalized in 2024.

The marriage ended after a volatile plane incident in 2016 and abuse allegations, which Pitt has adamantly denied. He has also  and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services cleared Pitt of physical abuse allegations.

Following the split, a source close to Pitt, 62, suggested that Jolie, 51, allegedly with her ex-husband - but he rejected her. A separate source has denied the actress ever wanted her ex back and instead said she 'participated in years of family therapy with Pitt and the children, for everyone to try to heal.'

A decade later, there is still more healing to do.

According to a second source, it's not easy for their kids - Zahara, 21, Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Shiloh, 20, and 18-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - to forgive and forget.

'None of the kids respect Brad because of what he has done to their mother,' the insider told the Daily Mail on Monday. 

'They remember how awful it was when they were married, all the fights and drama. They always preferred their mom: Brad always told them what they shouldn't do while Angelina told them what they could do, so it's no wonder they gravitated toward her.'

Many close to Pitt are convinced, though, that the now-adult children are victims of a long-running 'alienation campaign.' 

'This very sad situation is the result of a deliberate, devastating, harmful alienation campaign against the kids' father by the mother,' the first source alleged. 'It's textbook language from children who were taught to alienate another parent.'

The source also claimed that it is 'the result of years of one parent weaponizing the children against the other, with no regard for the consequences.'

In May, an insider familiar with the situation insisted to Page Six that Jolie has never set out to isolate her children and condemned the use of the word 'alienated.'

As one source put it, Jolie is 'the superwoman' and Pitt 'is the villain'