Angelina Jolie Wins Legal Bid to Block Release of Her Private Messages in Brad Pitt Winery Battle

Sean MandellWed, May 6, 2026 at 3:09 AM UTC

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(L): Angelina Jolie attends the "Coutures" Premiere at Pathe Palace on February 9, 2026, in Paris, France; (R): Brad Pitt attends the "Wolfs" red carpet during the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, in Venice, Italy.Credit: Aurore Marechal/Getty; Dominique Charriau/WireImage -

A judge has ruled that Angelina Jolie does not have to turn over private communications sought by ex-husband Brad Pitt, finding they are protected by attorney-client privilege

While Pitt’s team can try again if new evidence emerges, the judge said Pitt “has not met his burden” to show that the communications fall outside attorney-client privilege

The legal fight stems from Jolie’s sale of her stake in Château Miraval, the winery she and Pitt once co-owned, which Pitt alleges breached a prior agreement between them

Angelina Jolie has won a victory in her legal fight with ex-husband Brad Pitt over the release of her private messages.

On Monday, May 5, a judge issued an order denying a motion from Pitt's lawyers, which would have required Jolie, 50, to turn over 22 communications related to her and Pitt's winery dispute that her lawyers say are protected by attorney-client privilege. With the ruling, the judge adopted an appellate court's decision overturning a previous order to compel the production of the messages.

In Monday's decision, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ciny Pánuco wrote that Pitt, 62, “has not met his burden” to show the communications are exempt from that protection, echoing the appellate court's decision.

The judge did note, however, that “further discovery may yield additional facts” that “could potentially rebut” Jolie’s claims — but added that Pitt “has not done so on the present record.”

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt attend the premiere of "By the Sea" at the 2015 AFI Fest on November 5, 2015 in Hollywood, California.Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Pánuco also denied Jolie’s request for $33,692.50 in sanctions, writing that the sanctions were "not warranted' because Pitt’s position “was not without substantial justification.”

"This is an important victory for Ms. Jolie," Jolie's attorney Paul Murphy says in a statement to PEOPLE, calling Pitt "completely out of bounds when he sought access to obviously privileged documents." The statement adds that "this is part of Mr. Pitt’s pattern of demanding control over anything Angelina, including control over her communications with her own attorneys. We are extremely gratified that both the Court of Appeal and the trial court ultimately put a stop to it."

Meanwhile, a source close to Pitt tells PEOPLE, “The judge allowed Pitt’s team to revisit [the decision] as evidence develops. It’s notable how Jolie has withheld so many documents as privileged. ⁠⁠It’s just some of the evidence in the case.”

The legal battle over the Château Miraval winery began in 2022, when Pitt filed a lawsuit over Jolie's sale of her share in Miraval to Tenute del Mondo — the wine division of the Stoli Group — despite an alleged prior agreement that neither would do so unless the other approved. Jolie denied the agreement existed and responded by filing a countersuit, claiming the actor-producer has been "waging a vindictive war against" her.

Lawyers for Jolie have also asserted that Pitt refused to buy her out of the business because she did not want to sign a non-disclosure agreement "designed to force her silence about his abuse and cover-up," referring to a 2016 private jet flight during which the F1 star allegedly was verbally and physically abusive toward his family. (Pitt was not charged by authorities after investigations into the incident, and Jolie declined to press charges at the time.)

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Château Miraval, the winery once co-owned by Angelina Jolie and Brad PittCredit: MICHEL GANGNE/AFP via Getty

More recently, court documents showed Pitt sued Jolie for $35 million in damages after her 2021 sale of her share of the winery business.

On Oct. 29, 2025, Pitt’s legal team submitted into evidence communications to and from Jolie’s team regarding the sale of her stake in the French winery the former couple co-owned. One exhibit was a November 2023 email in which the Maria star’s lawyers responded to a lawsuit from Pitt allegedly involving millions in damages.

“The burdensome nature of any production is a matter of Mr. Pitt’s own creation—he is suing Ms. Jolie for $35 million in damages,” wrote Jolie's lawyers at the time. “As a result, he has to incur the expense of producing the documents that will show (or not show) those damages.”

An October 2023 email from Jolie’s team also mentions that the Fight Club star was “seeking ongoing damages for alleged harm to Miraval’s ongoing operations.”

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They also cited “Pitt’s continuing refusals to produce documents relating to the reasons why he needed his four-year NDA covering his personal misconduct,” saying those communications are key “to the heart of our case and must be produced.”

Lawyers for Pitt have previously alleged that less than six months after Jolie sold her shares of Miraval, her lawyer proposed an even broader, mutual non-disparagement clause to Pitt in connection with their divorce proceedings.

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor and the Eternals star, who share six children — Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, twins Knox and Vivienne, 17 — finalized their divorce in December 2024. Jolie had initially filed to dissolve their marriage in September 2016.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”