Brad Pitt's kids take out newspaper ads in public bid to drop their father's last name
Los Angeles, California - Two more of Brad Pitt's children have taken action to finally cut ties with their famous father and formally drop his last name.
Shiloh Jolie set the precedent two years ago: Shortly after her 18th birthday, the eldest biological child of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt officially dropped her father's surname.
Now, two of her siblings are following suit: as Page Six reports, Zahara (21) and Maddox (24) also want to go solely by Jolie and have taken another step toward that end.
According to the report, the pair filed legal paperwork several weeks ago and publicly announced their desire for a name change in multiple newspaper ads, as required by California law.
Court documents show that since mid‑June, Zahara and Maddox have each placed four notices of their petition in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. All parties opposing the change have been asked to file written objections.
Currently, the siblings still legally carry the hyphenated surname Jolie‑Pitt. If their petition is approved, they could become Zahara Marley Jolie and Maddox Chivan Jolie. A final hearing is scheduled for September.
Several of Brad Pitt's children have already stopped using his last name
Unofficially, the siblings have long abandoned their father's surname.
At recent public events, Zahara and Maddox, just like their younger sister Vivienne, have appeared only under the name Jolie and have dropped the hyphenated last name.
Angelina and Brad, once one of Hollywood's dream couples, have six children together.
Three of them have now taken the official step of distancing themselves from their father amid accusations from Angelina that he was physically and emotionally abusive towards her and their children.
The former couple split in 2016 and have been embroiled in bitter legal disputes ever since, while the relationship between the children and their father has been quite strained.
In 2020, another of Angelina and Brad's kids, Pax, lashed out at the F1 actor in a private post that read in part, "You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell."
"You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday," the now-22-year-old added.
Cover photo: picture alliance/dpa/Press Association | Tim Goode