Brad Pitt slams ex Angelina Jolie for 'delay tactic' amid bitter custody battle
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's bitter custody battle has been dragged out for almost four years. Angelina is now trying to remove the judge overseeing the case
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Brad Pitt's legal team slammed Angelina Jolie over 'delay tactics' linked to the couple's bitter ongoing custody battle.
Four years after filing for divorce, the former couple's prolonged custody hearing could be delayed even further because of recent filings.
On August 7, Angelina, 45, filed a request to remove Judge John W. Ouderkirk from their divorce hearing.
According to the documents, obtained by People, the actress suggested that the judge would be 'biased' as he has not disclosed his business relationships with Brad's lawyers.
On Thursday, Pitt's legal team slammed the move as "a thinly-veiled attempt by Jolie to delay the adjudication of long-pending custody issues in this case."
In the filing, Pitt, 56, accused his ex wife of trying to stall the case and slammed the move as a 'Hail Mary' - a term used in American football when the game is deliberately delayed.
The legal team added Angelina had been aware of Ouderkirk's engagements and that she "has never objected to [his] continued involvement in this proceeding until now."
The document then goes on to state that those most 'hurt' by the 'tactical gambit' would be the couple's children.
The filing read: "Unfortunately, the individuals hurt most by Jolie's transparently tactical gambit are the parties' own children, who continue to be deprived of a final resolution to these custody issues."
A representative for Brad has been contacted for comment.
Jolie's lawyer Samantha Bley DeJean told People: "It is unfortunate that Mr. Pitt's team has sought to intervene ahead of Judge Ouderkirk's response.
"One can only conclude that this is an attempt to obstruct or influence Judge Ouderkirk's answer.
"Any delay in these proceedings is due to their zealous attempt to create an unrecognized special exception for their client's benefit."
Brad and Angelina tied the knot in 2014 before filing for divorce two years later, citing irreconcilable differences.
Since 2016, the couple's case appears to have been anything but a conscious uncoupling.
Although a judge ruled in 2019 that Angelina and Brad were officially 'single,' their divorce was still far from finalised.
The couple share six children - Maddox, 19, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12.
The case continues over how much custody each parent will have over the children.
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