Brad Pitt Allegedly Fuming Over Graduation Snub, Accuses 'Spiteful' Angelina Jolie of Turning Their Kids Against Him

Brad Pitt is said to be 'fuming' in Los Angeles after allegedly being left in the dark about daughter Zahara's graduation from Spelman College earlier this month, with sources close to the actor accusing Angelina Jolie of shutting him out and turning their six children against him.

The latest row lands almost a decade after Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, detonating what has become one of Hollywood's bitterest break-ups. The former couple, once branded 'Brangelina,' share six children: Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and 15‑year‑old twins Vivienne and Knox.

Their formal custody arrangements for the twins are due to expire when they turn 18 on 12 July, finally ending one of the last legal ties between the actors as parents of minors.

Brad Pitt Graduation Row Deepens Long-Running Feud With Angelina Jolie

The graduation dispute began when a source close to Jolie briefed a US outlet that Pitt had failed to show up for Zahara's big day. According to that account, Jolie and the children who had 'been involved over the four very special years' attended and celebrated as she received her degree in psychology.

The same source insisted 'nothing prevented him from showing up for her. Or ever visiting her,' and said the focus of the day was Zahara's achievements, 'not whether he was willing to attend.'

Pitt's side hit back quickly. A source aligned with the 62‑year‑old argued that he has spent years being edged out of his children's lives, only to be blamed when he is no longer present.

'When you've made clear that you're pushing him away from the children, a reasonable person cannot then complain that he's not close to the children,' the Pitt insider said.

A second source claimed the actor had not even been told when the ceremony would take place. 'Brad is upset and says he was shut out and not even told when it was happening, and Angelina's response is to paint him as the villain for not reaching out,' the insider said, alleging that Jolie expected him to 'be aware that this is her graduation year and made an effort to show up.'

From Pitt's perspective, it was portrayed as a classic no‑win scenario: turn up uninvited and risk chaos, or stay away and be cast as indifferent. 'Brad is fuming and saying she's set him up to look like the bad guy to his kids yet again,' the source added.

The graduation brought another, more symbolic blow. Although her full name, Zahara Marley Jolie‑Pitt, appeared in the official programme, she chose to be introduced on stage as 'Zahara Marley Jolie,' dropping her father's surname in public.

Brad Pitt Name Changes Fuel Claims Of 'Spiteful' Strategy

The decision mirrors a wider pattern. Only Pax and Knox are still described as using the Pitt surname. The other four children have either informally abandoned it or are seeking to do so. Shiloh, Pitt and Jolie's eldest biological child, filed to remove 'Pitt' from her name as soon as she turned 18 last year.

Earlier this month, it emerged that their eldest son, Maddox, has also legally requested to become 'Maddox Chivan Jolie.'

People close to the family say the names speak louder than any public statement. 'This has been horribly painful for all the kids; no child wants to see their parents fight like this,' an insider said. 'That being said, there's no question whose side they're on. The fact that, one by one, they're dropping Brad's last name says it all.'

The same source described a hush rather than open hostility among the siblings. 'The kids don't sit around trash‑talking their dad or wishing him harm. It's more of a sad and unspoken topic at this point that's something they've learned to live with.

They're fiercely protective of their mom, so whenever there's any sort of conflict, even over something relatively minor, they typically back her.'

The Zahara graduation row, they suggested, was 'the perfect example' of that dynamic.

On Jolie's side, there is deep resentment over the drawn‑out legal fight. She has previously said she feels trapped in Los Angeles, unable to relocate because of the custody agreement.

She now plans to spend 'a lot more time' in Cambodia, far from Pitt's base in LA, and has been open about her disillusionment with what she called the 'shallow' Hollywood environment.

Her public appearances have also prompted concern. After Jolie attended a Tom Ford event in April, fans commented online that she looked 'tired and unwell' and 'struggling.' The children, a source said, have watched the toll the divorce and legal wrangling have taken.

'It's pretty cut and dry as far as the kids are concerned: Their dad is clearly out to destroy their mom, and that's something they'll never understand or forgive him for. They see firsthand how much it affects her, emotionally as well as financially.'

Angelina Jolie Legal Wins Feed Brad Pitt's Sense Of Betrayal

The warring exes are still locked in a separate battle over Château Miraval, their French estate and winery. Although their divorce was finalised in December 2024, Pitt is contesting Jolie's decision to sell her stake to a Russian billionaire. Earlier this month, the courts sided with Jolie by refusing Pitt's request for access to her private emails related to the sale.

Soon after that ruling, news of Maddox's legal name change surfaced. According to a Pitt‑leaning source, the timing was no accident. 'Brad and his team are sticking to their line that Angie is a vengeful, spiteful character who delights in causing him anguish any chance she gets,' they claimed.

The suggestion was that the name‑change filing, coupled with Zahara's public use of 'Jolie,' was part of a wider pattern of 'spiteful moves' stretching back more than a decade.

None of these allegations has been tested in court, and representatives for Jolie have not publicly responded to the latest claims.

Privately, however, Pitt is said to be devastated. He lost his mother, Jane, last year, with the source claiming she had not seen her grandchildren for years. The actor is understood to feel he has missed a decade of his children's lives and that this estrangement is 'wicked and unforgivable on every level.'

'It breaks his heart to be this estranged and effectively at odds with his own kids,' the insider said. Despite that, they insisted he has not 'lost all hope' and still believes that, one day, his children may decide to rebuild a relationship with him, even as the 'toxic blame game' around Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie shows no sign of easing.