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Why did Angelina Jolie’s daughter Shiloh file a request to legally drop Brad Pitt’s surname on her 18th birthday?

The drama between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt continues via their children.

Angelina Jolie next to her daughter, Shiloh
Photo by Ricky Vigil M/GC Images

There was once a time when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were the biggest couple in Hollywood. Their chemistry was so intense that everyone almost forgot how they got together in the first place.

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The two started a huge family, worked together on camera again, and seemed to build a real legacy. However, their happily-ever-after only lasted so long. It all came crumbling down when they split in 2016. The breakup was only the beginning because, since then, they engaged in one messy legal divorce and other subsequent countersuits.

Amid several abuse allegations, Pitt’s relationship with his children, Maddox, 22, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, Pax, 20, Knox, 15, and Vivienne, 15, became strained. Now, Shiloh has officially petitioned to drop her father’s name.

What happened between Shiloh and Brad Pitt?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith
via 20th Century Studios

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt has just turned 18, and, as a present for herself, she went and filed a petition to drop “Pitt” from her surname on May 27. The teenager is now hoping to go by Shiloh Jolie, according to TMZ.

Shiloh’s petition hasn’t been granted yet, but it might be soon. Brad Pitt’s relationship with his children has become stranded following the events in 2016, when he was investigated by the FBI for child abuse. Angelina and Brad later engaged in a custody battle where Jolie came out triumphant, getting primary custody of all six children.

Jolie accused Pitt of being abusive on the plane after allegedly drinking too much alcohol, with the actor in return accusing her of ruining the family. Pitt has vehemently denied her allegations. In 2022, a source told People that Pitt had a “positive attitude” about his “sad situation” with his children. “He believes there will be a time when he has a great relationship with his kids again.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t look too good for him, as Shiloh seems not to want to bear her father’s name.

There’s no official confirmation as to why Shiloh filed the petition, but it might have something to do with the abuse allegations and their poor relationship.

Other Jolie-Pitt children avoid the actor’s name

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is the first of Angelina and Brad’s children to officially file to drop her father’s name. However, she’s not the only one. Just recently, news broke out that Vivienne, who is helping her mother produce the musical The Outsiders, is listed as Vivienne Jolie, instead of her full name, People reports. However, it’s unclear whether the 15-year-old has also petitioned for a name change. Besides Vivienne and Shiloh, the former “It” couple’s eldest child, Zahara, also introduced herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie” when she joined a sorority at her university, Spelman College, last November.