Judge Denies Brad Pitt's Request to Seal Custody Documents
The actor split from Angelina Jolie, the mother of his six kids, in September.
— -- A judge denied Brad Pitt's request to seal documents in his custody battle with Angelina Jolie on Wednesday.
Superior Court Judge Richard Burdge, Jr., ruled in court documents obtained by ABC News that Pitt's request did not meet the requirements for a seal.
Pitt's attorneys said in court documents that the actor wanted all documents regarding the former couple's six children sealed to shield them from "intense media coverage" and "worldwide public scrutiny."
"I am extremely concerned that if court records are not sealed, information contained therein will cause irreparable damage to our children's privacy rights," Pitt said in the court documents.
However, Jolie's lawyers in response said the seal should be denied, calling it a "thinly veiled attempt to shield himself, rather than the minor children, from the public view." They also alleged that Pitt "simply appears to be trying to seal this case from the public record before he seeks visitation and/or child custody orders contrary to the minor children's therapists' recommendations and the parties' current custody/visitation order."
Pitt, 52, and Jolie, 41, were married for two years and together for more than a decade when she filed for divorce this past September. The former couple have six children: Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8. Jolie filed for sole physical custody, and a few weeks later, Pitt filed his own paperwork, seeking joint custody.
According to the documents obtained by ABC News, a temporary order is in place regarding custody of the children, who currently live with their mother. According to the documents, Pitt has weekly meetings with the kids, during which therapists are present. That order is in place through the end of next month.
In September, a source told ABC News that Pitt had been accused of child abuse after he argued with one of his kids while aboard a flight from France to the U.S. The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services and the FBI both launched investigations into the incident, but both cleared Pitt of wrongdoing.
Attorneys for Pitt and Jolie declined to comment to ABC News after Wednesday's hearing.