Brad Pitt seeks private messages as legal battle with Angelina Jolie over winery deepens

Amid an ongoing legal battle over Château Miraval, the French winery they once co-owned, Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has demanded access to private communications from his ex-wife Angelina Jolie.

According to court documents filed on June 30 and obtained by PEOPLE, the 61-year-old actor requested records and a deposition from Alexey Oliynik, an employee of the Stoli Group. 

Pitt believes Oliynik has key information about Jolie's 2021 sale of her stake in the winery to Stoli's wine division, Tenute del Mondo.

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star claims that Jolie made the sale without his consent, violating a past agreement that neither of them would sell their share without the other's approval. In February 2022, he sued Jolie, while Jolie responded in September 2022 with a countersuit, accusing Pitt of "waging a vindictive war" against her since their separation in 2016.

As per PEOPLE, in Pitt's new document filed in the Superior Court of California, Oliynik has refused to provide documents or sit for questioning, stating that he cannot be forced to do so since he resides in Switzerland. Pitt's team argues these records are important to prove that Jolie "acted with malice" by selling her share to a buyer Pitt had long opposed.

Jolie's legal team has previously claimed Pitt would only buy her out if she signed a non-disclosure agreement meant to keep her from speaking about alleged abuse. That includes an incident on a private jet in 2016, where Pitt was reportedly verbally and physically abusive. Authorities investigated but did not press charges, and Jolie did not pursue legal action at the time, PEOPLE reported.

The two, who share six children, finalised their divorce in December 2023, but the legal battle over Chateau Miraval remains unsettled.

In 2024, a judge ordered Jolie to submit eight years' worth of NDAs she issued to others as part of the dispute over the terms Pitt allegedly asked her to agree to.

A source close to Jolie told PEOPLE that she hopes the family can find peace.

According to PEOPLE, a source close to Pitt shared that Jolie's actions have caused "tremendous collateral damage to those in and around the family."