Brad Pitt Insisting Ex Angelina Jolie ‘Get a Better Grip’ on Their Big Brood

Angelina Jolie’s son Pax looked worse for wear during a recent night out with friends in L.A.

On May 31, the 21-year-old was photographed being propped up by his pals as the rowdy crew made their way from celebrity hotspot Chateau Marmont to a strip club on Hollywood’s notorious Sunset Strip, where they partied until the wee hours. At one point, Pax looked as if he could barely stand as he clung to two members of his group, wavering on a street corner.

The Oscar winner’s middle son is getting a rep for reckless behavior. At least twice he’s crashed his e-bike while speeding along L.A.’s busy streets — without a helmet — needing to be hospitalized after a collision last July. (An insider tells Star, “a lot of people have told him it’s lunacy, that he must have some type of death wish to be so negligent.”)

For Angelina, it’s a conundrum. “Like any parent, she worries that Pax will fall into the wrong crowd or drink too much,” says the source. Yet the 50-year-old, a former wild child herself, has always prided herself on being a supportive but hands-off mother to Pax and his five siblings (she and ex-husband Brad Pitt share Maddox, 23, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and 16-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox).

Now the source says Brad fears his ex is losing control of their big brood — revealing another bone of contention in their bitter split. “He’s insisting Angelina get a better grip,” says the source. “But she isn’t going to listen to him and his concerns.”

Hard To Rein In

Angelina doesn’t feel like she has much of a leg to stand on when it comes to reining the kids in — she was no stranger to trouble as a young adult. In a November 2011 interview with 60 Minutes, Angelina opened up about going through “heavy, darker times” in her life.

“Angelina used to restrict Pax when he was younger but now that he’s 21, there’s not much she can do,” says the source. “Besides, she did plenty worse than he did when she was his age, so she’s wary of coming across like a hypocrite.”

She also brought up the children to be free spirits. They spent their formative years traveling the globe. In 2021, the Maria star — who once said she’d rather they focus on outdoor adventures than homework — revealed to E! News’ Daily Pop  that she was scared of parent-teacher conferences. “I have a problem with schools because I was always in trouble in school,” she admitted. “I have PTSD.”

The Blame Game

When it comes to Pax, there’s not much Brad can do. Adopted from Vietnam, Pax spent his early years in an orphanage before Brad and Angelina brought him home in 2007. Among all of the kids, he’s been the most vocal about siding with his mom in the couple’s nasty, years-long divorce and custody battle. (The family unraveled after a 2016 incident on a private plane. Angelina accused a drunken Brad of attacking her; now sober, Brad has denied all allegations.)

In 2020, he  reportedly slammed Brad in a since-deleted Instagram post, calling him “world class a**hole.” The source says the 61-year-old “still loves him dearly” and believes the children “have been given way too much freedom way too soon,” by their mom. (Until age 18, he still has legal access to the twins.)

In another blow to the F1 actor, Shiloh, one of several of the kids who have dropped “Pitt” from their name, has further altered her moniker. The teen debuted her new name, “Shi Joli,” in a press release about a dance she choreographed for an Isabel Marant/Net-A-Porter fashion show May 29.

According to the source, Shiloh “is still trying to find herself. Growing up in the spotlight was tough on her and she found her parents’ divorce traumatic.”

Holding Out Hope

Angelina is taking a backseat approach for now and hoping the kids find their way eventually. Zahara is off at Spelman College (“she’s very keen to spread her wings and travel,” says the source) while Maddox (who Angelina described as “smart … but also wild” in 2019) lives in Angelina’s Manhattan apartment (she said in March all the children use it as a “crash pad”).

“Angelina is happy for them all to try new things and thinks it’s healthy for them to experiment. She has zero doubt they’ll go on to achieve great things in their lives.”