This article has been updated since its original publication date to include new info
Brad Pitt reportedly isn’t ready to “give up” on his children, despite some of them choosing to drop his last name. Just a few weeks ago, his and ex-wife Angelina Jolie‘s daughter Shiloh filed to drop his surname on her 18th birthday – a move which reportedly made him very “upset.”
According to TMZ, Shiloh reportedly filed for the name change on May 27th. This came just weeks after the youngest Jolie-Pitt daughter, Vivienne, chose to leave her father’s last name off of her producer’s assistant slot in the Playbill of the play her mother co-produced, The Outsiders. An insider revealed to People at the time that Pitt was “aware and upset” about Shiloh’s move, and said: “The reminders that he’s lost his children is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad”
Brad Pitt Still Hopes For A Reconciliation With His Children
The "Brangelina" split has been a very public matter since 2016. The ex-couple share six children: Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, Knox, 15, and Vivienne, 15. After almost eight years, the brawl between the 60-year-old Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood actor and the Maleficent actress, 49, is still not over. The pair are now settling the dispute over the family's French winery, Château Miraval. Additionally, three of their daughters have now publicly parted ways with their father's name.
According to new reports, the Ad Astra actor is still hopeful that he can reconcile with all of his children in the not-so-distant future. "After years of legal battles, Brad still isn't ready to give up on his children,” an insider shared with Us Weekly in an article that was published on June 5th. “But knowing his children are dropping his last name is upsetting.”
Brad And Angelina's Daughter Shiloh Legally Changed Her Name To 'Shiloh Jolie' On Her 18th Birthday
Not too long after an insider told In Touch Weekly that Shiloh was looking to move in with Pitt in late March, it was revealed that she wanted to drop the last half of her name when one of her dance teachers tagged her in a post on Instagram and her name read "Shiloh Jolie." The official change was made when she turned 18.
"He's aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name," a source close to Pitt told People at the time. "He's never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter."
Shiloh's older sister Zahara also does not identify with her extended last name. As seen in a video shared by Essence, the eldest daughter introduced herself while joining the Mu Pi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Spelman College as "Zahara Marley Jolie," not Jolie-Pitt, in November 2023.
Following in her older sister's footsteps, Vivienne also debuted her shortened name in late May on the Playbill for The Outsiders, co-produced by her mother. However, there is no confirmation that Vivienne's name has been changed legally.
Brad Pitt Is Reportedly Ready To 'Move On With His Life' As Fans Claim That Jolie Is 'Brainwashing' Their Children
Recently, fans have been accusing the Eternals actress of "brainwashing" their children. In the ongoing battle over the pair's $162M French winery, it was also revealed by one of the family's former bodyguards, Tony Webb, that Jolie reportedly told her children to "avoid" their father during his visits.
This information was revealed after Jolie's lawyers claimed that Pitt's abuse toward her started before the plane ride that caused her to file for divorce from the Bullet Train actor. "While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family's September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him," Jolie's lawyers claimed in the April 4th court filing.
Following these claims, a source close to Pitt said that the Babylon actor is trying to "move on with his life" and is happy with his girlfriend Ines de Ramon. "It's been very stressful for him to have to defend over and over again," the source told People. However, inside sources maintain that Pitt is "still happy with Ines" but that the distance between him and his children "pains him."
Internet Reactions
While the kids appear to be siding with Jolie in the long-winded separation, some fans are continuing to claim that she is "brainwashing" her children into siding with her.
"The mother is brainwashing them," one critic commented under an Instagram post made by People. Another followed by saying, "I don't know the full scope of what Brad may have done but I'm sure they were pitted against him (no pun intended) by their mother."
However other fans chimed in, in support of Jolie saying, "This isn't about parent alienation, did you not read the official report on the plane incident," the commenter said. "All that occurred on the day pretty much explains why the kids want nothing to do with him. Saying the other parent is keeping them apart when it could be the kid that doesn't want to."
