Melissa Etheridge Slams Angelina Jolie and Defends Brad Pitt Against ‘Completely Unfounded’ Child Abuse Allegations
Melissa Etheridge is defending her old friend Brad Pitt. (Photo: Getty Images)
Well, there’s no mistaking which team Melissa Etheridge is on! The singer didn’t mince her words when she opened up about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s bitter divorce battle in an interview on Monday.
Speaking to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM radio show, the 55-year-old musician said she was “heartbroken” for Pitt and called the accusations that he verbally and physically assaulted his kids “completely unfounded.”
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“It breaks my heart that anyone would take something as personal as your marriage and your relationship and your rights to your children and do it as purposefully as I see it’s being done,” said Etheridge, who is a longtime friend of Pitt’s and sang at his wedding to Jennifer Aniston.
The veteran rocker — who has been through her own ugly custody battle with her ex Tammy Lynn Michaels in 2010 — slammed Jolie, 41, and her legal team for the way they’re dealing with the negative news surrounding the divorce.
“I’ve gone through family courts. I’ve been twice around this block, and I know it really well, and I know when there’s some forethought to just how mean and just how you’re going to put disinformation out there first.”
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Etheridge told the host it’s “completely heartbreaking” to see her friend at the center of child abuse accusations, and said she’d love to reconnect with the 52-year-old actor during this difficult time.
“I really hope that he reaches back out,” she said, before revealing she lost touch with him after he got together with Jolie. “There are a lot of us who haven’t seen him in 10 years.”
She added: “We all lost a friend.”
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Etheridge took yet another swipe at the Girl, Interrupted actress accusing her of “nasty” behavior when she struck up a relationship with Billy Bob Thornton, who was engaged to Laura Dern at the time.
“I was around when Angelina was not doing nice things with Billy Bob to Laura Dern. I went through that on a personal level, and then to know the side of Jennifer and Brad…” she trailed off. “I helped Laura move out of her house with Billy Bob — I like broke into their home to get their stuff out because it was so nasty.”
As Us Weekly reported, the estranged couple reached a temporary three-week custody agreement, that includes therapy and drug tests, suggested by the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Service on Friday, September 30.
A source confirmed to Us that Jolie will temporarily get full physical custody of the couple’s six kids: Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8.
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