Angelina Jolie wants everybody, including her ex-husband Brad Pitt, to know that her kids mean the world to her. In a new interview, she makes it clear to her former spouse what he’s taking away from her if ever the court decides to side with him in their contentious custody battle.
On Thursday, the Hollywood actress, 49, appeared in an interview with Good Morning America‘s Michael Strahan to talk about her new movie Maria, in which she gives life to the late opera singer Maria Callas. For the film, Jolie had to capture the 20th-century artist’s passion for music.
During their interview, Strahan asked Jolie if there is something in her life that’s comparable to Callas’ love of the art of singing. The actress then quickly replied, “motherhood.” When Strahan chimed in, saying, “the kids,” Jolie let out a big smile and declared, “It’s my happiness.”
Emphasizing how important her children are to her, the Academy Award-winning artist added, “You can take everything from me… I could — nothing else matters.”
Aside from showing her love, affection, and strong commitment to her six children: Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, Jolie’s heartfelt statement also doubles as her plea to her ex-husband and the father of her kids, who is also fighting for their custody in court.
Since filing for divorce in 2016, the exes have been locked in disputes over their finances, the ownership of their French vineyard, and, of course, their six children. Amid their custody battle, Pitt, 60, has been granted visitation rights with the younger kids while Jolie received primary custody, and she wants to keep it that way.
Elsewhere in the interview, Jolie talked about her kids’ possible foray into the showbiz industry. Despite collaborating with her eldest sons behind the scenes on Maria and recently partnering with Vivienne on The Outsiders Broadway production, she insisted her kids have little interest in following her into the spotlight. “None of them want to be in front of the camera,” Jolie said, describing them as “quite private.”
Even so, one of those private children made a rare public appearance last weekend. Jolie brought her youngest son, Knox, to the 2024 Governors Awards, his first red-carpet moment in three years. Clad in a classic tuxedo, Knox turned heads as he appeared every bit the dashing young man as he supported his mother.
“Angelina felt so proud having Knox by her side,” a source told Page Six of the special moment between the actress and her mini-me. “He typically prefers to stay out of the spotlight, and Angelina respects that decision, but he asked if he could join her. Of course, she was thrilled.”
But Pitt wasn’t impressed. According to an insider, the Fight Club actor felt the mother-son appearance was a calculated move. He allegedly believed that Jolie paraded Knox in front of the Hollywood press “to push his buttons.”
The strained relationship between Pitt and his children has only grown more evident over the years. Several of their adult children have distanced themselves from their father, legally dropping the Pitt surname in favor of Jolie. And if this is telling us anything, it’s the fact that no matter what the outcome of their custody battle, Jolie will never get the short end of the stick when it comes to their children.