Angelina Jolie has hinted that she wants to quit acting for good – while revealing that she plans to leave ‘unhealthy’ Los Angeles and ‘spend more time’ in Cambodia after ‘losing the ability to travel freely’ amid her bitter divorce battle with Brad Pitt. The actress, 48, spoke out about her dislike of Hollywood in the Wall Street Journal’s new December/January issue, explaining that she believes it is a ‘shallow’ place, and admitting that she would likely never have become an actress if she was entering the industry today.
She explained that she wants to move away as soon as she can to instead live in her home in Asia – but not until her ongoing legal battle with her ex finds a resolution. The pair started dating in 2005 and married in 2014, but split two years later, in 2016 – and since then, they have been embroiled in a lengthy, seven-year divorce proceeding over the custody of their six kids.
Angelina told Wall Street Journal that the court battle has lead to her ‘losing the ability to live and travel freely.’ ‘It’s part of what happened after my divorce – I lost the ability to live and travel as freely,’ she said. ‘I will move when I can. I grew up in quite a shallow place. Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.’ Angelina – whose parents, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, were both actors themselves – added that because ‘she grew up around’ Hollywood, she was ‘never very impressed’ with it. ‘I never bought into it as significant or important,’ she told the publication.
She admitted that if she were to start all over today, she likely wouldn’t choose acting as her profession, because of the ‘expectation’ to share intimate details about her personal life that comes with being a famous person. She added, ‘When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much.’ She also joked that she ‘doesn’t really have a social life’ anymore and that all of her ‘closest friends are refugees.’
The movie star has worked with the the UN Refugee Agency for more than two decades, visiting camps in Cambodia, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Pakistan over the years. ‘There’s a reason people who have been through hardship are also much more honest and much more connected, and I am more relaxed with them,’ she said. ‘Why do I like spending time with people who’ve survived and are refugees? They’ve confronted so much in life that it brings forward not just strength, but humanity.’ Angelina has been embroiled in arguably one of the most public breakups of all time, with the entire world watching on as she and ex Brad, 59, have battled it out in court over the last seven years. She briefly spoke out about the dissolvement of her marriage of WSJ, while opening up about why she decided to step back from the spotlight in recent years.
‘We had to heal. There are things we needed to heal from,’ she explained, when the outlet pointed out that she’s only appeared in five movies over the course of her seven-year legal fight. The 48-year-old graced the front of the magazine’s latest issue. The close-up profile shot showed the Maleficent alum from the neck up, as she starred away from the camera. Another snap from the photoshoot featured her posing in a black blazer and matching shorts from her new sustainable fashion brand, Altelier Jolie. A third saw her standing in a floor-length Atelier Jolie black coat with a hand-painted panel on the back. If Angelina does take a break from acting, that doesn’t mean she will stop working altogether, with the on-screen star sharing: ‘I can’t stop. I always think there’s a fight coming.’ However, her focus has largely turned to her other ventures – like her new clothing company, which she said is designed to empower ‘individuality’ and ‘freedom.’
She’s currently working on opening a shop for the brand in New York City, which will also include a café run by refugee and immigrant chefs and a space upstairs for private fittings. She also plans to ‘host educational events focused on techniques such as silk-screening, studding and embroidery’ at the store. ‘I’ll probably lose money, maybe even for a while,’ she told WSJ of the new venture. ‘If I can eventually put into practice some things that I think are improvements and I just break even, that’s a huge victory.’
She added: ‘Can we avoid doing real damage – not only to the earth, but the garment workers? Is it possible that I could go somewhere and enjoy making clothes, enjoy wearing clothes and not hurt anybody? And actually maybe treat people well? I don’t know the answers.’ Angelina and Brad first started dating in 2005 and from the start, their romance was controversial. They met on set of the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith – while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston – and almost immediately, rumors erupted that he had cheated on the Friends alum. It was a love triangle that seemed to capture the entire nation – and while Brad started dating Angelina almost immediately after he and Jennifer split, he has furiously denied that he was unfaithful to his ex.
Despite the allegations of infidelity, it seemed as though Brangelina was a match made in heaven, and for over a decade, they were Hollywood’s ‘it’ couple. They tied the knot in August 2014 during a secret ceremony in the South of France, and welcomed three 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren together during their romance – Shiloh, now 17, in 2006, and twins Vivienne and Knox, now 15, in 2008. They also adopted two more, Zahara, now 18, and Pax, now 20, and Brad legally adopted the son that Angelina had adopted before they got together, Maddox, now 22. But in 2016, it came to an explosive end after the pair got into an alleged physical altercation while on a private flight with their six kids.
Angelina later claimed that Brad ‘choked’ one of the 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren during the horrifying dispute and ‘struck’ another in the face, leaving her and the kids feeling like ‘hostages’ and towering in fear under a blanket for hours until they landed. She also alleged that he grabbed her by the head, slammed her against a wall, and violently shook her at one point during the flight – which resulted in her injuring her back and elbow. Brad’s rep called Angelina’s account ‘completely untrue’ to CNN at first, but then released an amended statement to the publication that read, ‘Angelina’s story continues to evolve each time she tells it.’
‘Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do. He has been on the receiving end of every type of personal attack and misrepresentation. Thankfully, the various public authorities she has tried to use against him over the past six years have made their own independent decisions. Brad will continue to respond in court as he has consistently done.’ In May 2021, after years of duking it out in court, Brad and Angelina were officially granted joint custody of their six kids – but one month later, the judge’s decision was thrown out. Since they split, the two stars have also been fighting in court over the winery that they once owned together.
