Is Shiloh Jolie-Pitt Desperate To See Brad Pitt?

While the past five years have been hard on Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt as their bitter custody battle rages on, 2021 has been particularly eventful. Pitt celebrated a legal victory in May, when the "Once Upon A Time" star was granted joint custody of their five minor children, as the BBC reported at the time. Before the private judge's ruling, Jolie held full custody of Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox (Maddox was 19 then and thus an adult), with Pitt maintaining visitation rights. But the victory was short-lived. 

In July, the judge was disqualified from the case following an appeal from Jolie, who successfully argued that the judge had failed to disclose his business associations with Pitt's lawyers, according to the BBC. The removal restored the original temporary agreement. Pitt asked the California Supreme Court to review the decision, but the high court sided with the appellate judges in October, dealing a blow to Pitt's attempt to share custody with Jolie, People reported.

Throughout the whole ordeal, the Jolie-Pitt children have had little time with their father. While the kids have been seen attending red carpet events with Jolie this year, their time alongside their dad is spent largely indoors. "He spends low-key time with his kids at home. He keeps their time together private. They are homebodies and have a good routine in place," an insider told E! News in October. But that little time with Pitt is reportedly not enough for Shiloh, especially now.

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt wished to spend time with Brad Pitt this holiday season, an insider told OK! magazine. "Shiloh's desperate to see her father, but the circumstances make it impossible, other than a quick trip to his house here and there," the source claimed. Of the six Jolie-Pitt children, Shiloh is reportedly the one who has suffered the most in light of Pitt's absence, with the insider describing her as a "daddy's girl." "It's only Shiloh who defends her dad. She really wants them all to spend Christmas together, and she's having a hard time accepting it won't happen," they said.

Pitt infamously had a falling-out with his and Angelina Jolie's oldest child, Maddox, whom Pitt was accused of verbally and physically abusing during a mid-flight fight shortly before Jolie filed for divorce on September 19, 2016, People reported at the time. Pitt was investigated and cleared of child abuse that November, according to Us Weekly. But Jolie continues to affirm she felt unsafe in her marriage. "It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children," Jolie told The Guardian in September.

Pitt hopes his bond with Shiloh helps him restore his relationship with his family, a source told In Touch Weekly in November. "Brad is very touched that Shiloh wants more of a relationship with him. That was always his hope, from all of his kids."

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt reportedly identifies a lot with Brad Pitt because she seems to have inherited many of her father's personality traits, a source told In Touch Weekly. "They not only look alike, but they have the same big heart ... They're both very open, they enjoy meeting new people. Shiloh seems to have somehow picked up Brad's midwestern demeanor," the insider said to the magazine, referring to Pitt's Oklahoma origins. 

Shiloh is said to be having a hard time standing by her father amid the deteriorating relationship between Pitt and some of her siblings. "Brad tried so hard to fix things, but Maddox and even Pax both blame him for the family fallout and refuse to see him," a source told OK! magazine in December. Maddox, who turned 18 in August 2020, testified on behalf of Jolie in May and "[the testimony] wasn't very flattering toward Brad," per Us Weekly. Pax, the second oldest, has had a strained relationship with Pitt since the divorce, Us Weekly reported.

Court documents from December 2020 noted that three of Pitt and Jolie's children were willing to testify against their father, though their names were not given, per Us Weekly. The judge, however, refused to allow it, a decision Jolie said was unfounded, based on a California law that allows children older than 14 to give testimony, according to ABC News. Vivienne and Knox were 12 at the time and would have been prevented from testifying, the report detailed.