Why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s kids don’t want anything to do with their father?

Brad Pitt is seeing his daughter, Shiloh's legal move as "more than a name change." (AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Brad Pitt might be having an upper hand on the French winery battle with his former wife, Angelina Jolie, but he is certainly feeling the weight of his fatherhood crumble.

Pitt and Jolie’s kids have sided with their mother and they are making sure they’re ridding themselves of their father’s name notwithstanding. Over the past couple of months Shiloh, Vivienne, and Zahara have publicly resorted to use only their mother’s name, Jolie, which has stirred up speculation on the kids’ relationship with their father.

While Brad Pitt has been putting on a rather brave face while his and Jolie’s daughter, Shiloh, filed to drop his last name, the actor is reportedly beyond devastated and is “finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with” the news.

Pitt sees the teenager’s legal move as “more than a name change,” a source told Us Weekly on Wednesday. “To him, it was more than a change of name — it was a symbol of a deeper estrangement that has been brewing for years,” the source said.

According to an inside source, the relationship between Brad Pitt and his children has deteriorated over the years, exacerbated by the legal turmoil surrounding his divorce from Angelina Jolie. "“They’ve struggled to forgive and connect with Brad since the divorce,” said the source. “Their mom is the head of the household, and she’s raised them with love and selflessness their whole lives. Once Brad left, it was very hard for them to see him go to war with her.”

Court documents from 2022 revealed that Jolie accused Pitt of drunkenly attacking and verbally abusing her and two of their children during a 2016 trip. Although the US Attorney's Office decided not to press charges, the incident profoundly affected their son Maddox, who has since become very protective of his mother. The source also mentioned that the older boys' negative views of Pitt have shaped the younger children's perceptions of him.

Brad Pitt's relationship with his children has worsened over the years, with his eldest sons, Maddox (22) and Pax (20), having cut off communication with him. “Brad’s relationship with Maddox and Pax is nonexistent at this point, and he barely, if ever, hears from Zahara,” said the source.

Over the weekend, Page Six revealed that the 60-year-old "Fight Club" actor is eager to rebuild connections with his children as they mature and establish their own lives. Brad Pitt is reportedly “not ready to give up on them.”

Another source close to the Emmy winner claimed that Angelina Jolie, 49, has allegedly used their children as a "weapon against Brad" and has intentionally distanced them from their father during their ongoing legal disputes.

The conflict between Pitt and Jolie shows no signs of abating either. In 2022, Pitt sued Jolie for selling her share of Château Miraval, a property valued at around $500 million. In April, Jolie's legal team made fresh accusations, asserting that Pitt had been physically abusive even before the infamous 2016 plane incident. By May, Pitt's lawyers had filed a statement from Tony Webb, a security company owner who worked for Jolie for two decades, claiming that she had actively discouraged the children from spending time with their father.