Actor and activist says her experiences made her realise importance of children’s rights
Angelina Jolie has told the Guardian she feared for the safety of her family during her marriage to Brad Pitt and criticised the US government for not doing more to protect the rights of minors.
In an interview with Weekend magazine, the actor and activist said her experiences in her relationship with Pitt made her realise the importance of children’s rights, which she is supporting with a new book, Know Your Rights.
When asked what had happened that made her fear for her children’s rights, Jolie said she was still in her own legal situation that she “can’t speak about” but confirmed by nodding that she was alluding to her divorce and the allegations of domestic abuse she made against Pitt.
When pressed about whether or not she feared for the safety of her children, she answered: “Yes, for my family. My whole family.”
Jolie criticised the US for being the only country to have not fully ratified the United Nations convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC), which successive administrations have failed to send to the Senate.
The actor said the situation after a fraught custody battle, in which she alleged Pitt was “verbally abusive and physical” with their adopted son Maddox while on their private plane, had been “horrific”.
“It doesn’t start with the violation [the plane incident]. It’s so much more complicated than that,” she said, adding the lack of ratification of the UNCRC had had a large impact on her battle with Pitt, saying, for example, Maddox had been “denied a voice in court”.
Jolie said she did not make the decision to divorce Pitt lightly. “It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children,” she added.
Pitt admitted having an alcohol problem and that he had yelled at one of his children, but has always denied being physically abusive to them. The FBI cleared him of wrongdoing over the plane incident. His lawyers declined to comment when invited to do so by the Guardian.
When asked what the past five years had taken out of her, Jolie answered: “I mean, in some ways it’s been the last decade. There’s a lot I can’t say.”
Jolie said she had been traumatised and “broken” by her recent experiences and she wanted her family to move forward, “all of us, including their dad. I want us to heal and be peaceful. We’ll always be a family.”
“How am I? I’m realising that sometimes you can survive things, but not know how to feel and live in the same way. So it’s more about being open. I’m really trying to be open as a human being again,” she added.
• Read the full interview in Saturday’s Guardian Weekend magazine, and on theguardian.com on Saturday morning.
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