Actors

BRAD Pitt’s estranged son Maddox has dropped the actor’s surname for his credit on his new film with mum Angelina Jolie.

Maddox, 24, served as the production assistant on Angelina’s critically acclaimed 2024 Maria Callas biopic and is now an assistant director of her latest feature, Couture.

For the first time, he’s been credited as Maddox Jolie rather than Maddox Jolie-Pitt.

The new flick sees Angelina play the lead role of Maxine, an American film director diagnosed with breast cancer before jetting to France to shoot the film that will open Paris Fashion Week.

Brad and ex-wife Angelina, 48, have six kids — they adopted Maddox, Pax, 22, and Zahara, 21, and also have their biological children Shiloh, 19, and 17-year-old twins Knox and ­Vivienne.

Maddox isn’t the first child to ditch the Pitt name.

MAKING A MOV-IE

Brad Pitt to star in blockbuster F1 sequel after huge success of original

NEW FEUD

Angelina Jolie in legal battle over NYC studio amid nasty fight with Brad Pitt

Shiloh made the same decision in 2024. The legal forms were published in the LA Times for a month before a judge finalised the move as per California law.

Brad was reported to have been upset by the name change.

A source told People: “He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. The reminders that he’s lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad.”

The same year Vivienne only used her mother’s name when she was credited as a producer on Broadway musical Playbill for The Outsiders.

While Zahara presented herself as ‘Zahara Marley Jolie’ at her introduction to the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Spellman College in 2023, this despite Brad describing her enrolment at the college as “really beautiful” months earlier.

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor’s marriage to Angelina came to an end in 2016 after an explosive row in front of their kids on a private jet. Brad allegedly clashed with Maddox on the same flight.

As the bitter divorce rumbled on, it became clear the kids were on their mum’s side.

An insider told The Sun: “As far as Maddox, Pax and Zahara go, the word is that they are totally in support of their mother and Brad doesn’t hear from them these days at all — certainly not the boys, and it’s been that way for a very long time.”

The source suggested Brad still had contact with his biological kids, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne.

They said: “He still sees Shiloh and the twins whenever he can, though not as often as he would like.”

The multi-millionaire fought a long, bitter and expensive battle to try to gain equal custody rights with Angelina.

And in May 2021, a judge ruled he could jointly share access.

But just a few months later that was overturned following an appeal by Jolie on the grounds that the judge had financial connections to Brad’s legal team.

None of that stopped Brad from seeing the children under supervision, which he had to book in advance.

Following the break-up, Brad joined Alcoholics Anonymous and he has spoken about drinking too heavily for much of his life.

Pax’s private Instagram post in 2020 on Father’s Day suggested the kids experienced problems before and beyond the plane incident.

He wrote: “You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person.

“You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence.

“You will never understand the damage you have done to my family because you’re incapable of doing so.”

HumAngle Foundation, a sister organisation of HumAngle Media, has convened 17 peacebuilding actors, including civil society organisations, government institutions, and security agencies, for a two-day multi-stakeholder roundtable on local peacebuilding efforts in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria.

The roundtable, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), was held from February 5 to 6 in Jos, the Plateau State capital. It forms part of the Advancing Peace and Security through Journalism (APSJ) Project, launched by the Foundation in 2024 to strengthen the technological capacity of journalists and community-based organisations to promote peacebuilding, accountability, and good governance in conflict-affected areas.

Plateau State has, for decades, experienced recurrent communal violence driven by a complex mix of farmer–herder tensions, identity-based disputes, land ownership conflicts, and political grievances. The state has also suffered terror attacks by armed groups, further compounding insecurity, displacement, and trauma among affected communities. These overlapping forms of violence have resulted in significant loss of lives, widespread displacement, and deep-seated mistrust, underscoring the need for inclusive, locally driven peacebuilding approaches.

Speaking at the event, Angela Umoru-David, the Foundation’s Programme Director, said the roundtable was designed to bridge gaps between stakeholders who often work in isolation. 

“Our objective is to deepen collective understanding of local peacebuilding efforts in Plateau state and promote knowledge exchange on innovative approaches to curbing violent conflict,” she said. “As the project progresses, we intend to also create linkages to journalists so that civil society organisations (CSOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) can engage with media practitioners in a meaningful way and contribute to journalism for peace.”

Participants discussed emerging trends, persistent gaps, and new opportunities within Plateau State’s peacebuilding ecosystem. Describing the engagement as timely, Nanmak Bali, President of the Plateau Peace Practitioners Network, an umbrella body for peacebuilding organisations in the state, noted that the discussions would improve coordination among actors. “The roundtable is apt, and it is coming at the right time,” he said. “These conversations will strengthen our approach to information sharing and guide how we design and implement our interventions.”

Bwemana Hailey Adanchin, an officer at the Mediation and Dialogue Unit of the Plateau Peace Building Agency, also highlighted the value of collaboration fostered by the meeting. “Participating in this roundtable has been very impactful, especially the lessons on collaboration,” she told HumAngle. “It reinforces the fact that no single institution can build peace alone.”

The roundtable featured plenary sessions and breakout discussions, during which participants examined the progress and limitations of existing peacebuilding interventions in the state. 

Alfred Alabo, spokesperson of the Plateau State Police Command, said security agencies were increasingly recognising the limits of force-based responses to conflict. “There is a growing understanding that peace cannot be achieved through kinetic approaches alone,” he said. “When we engage more deeply, we realise that dialogue and community engagement are essential. In many cases, civil society organisations are already on the ground before we arrive, and we work together to resolve issues.”

Other participants echoed similar sentiments, emphasising the importance of early engagement, coordinated responses, and the responsible use of information in conflict-sensitive environments, and collaboration.

Fatima Suleiman, Executive Director of the Islamic Counselling Initiative of Northern Nigeria, described the roundtable as a moment of self-reflection. “This engagement has made me think more critically about stakeholder mapping and inclusion,” she said. “It highlighted gaps in how we identify and engage relevant actors in peacebuilding.”

Similarly, Kangyang Gana, Executive Director of Claire Aid Foundation, said the sessions helped her reassess her organisation’s interventions. “The discussions helped me identify gaps in our current interventions,” she said. “It has given me clarity on what needs to be adjusted to make our peacebuilding efforts more effective.”

Aliyu Dahiru, HumAngle’s Head of the Extremism and Radicalisation Desk, led a dedicated session on extremists’ use of media for propaganda, radicalisation, and recruitment. He stressed the role of journalists and peace actors in countering harmful narratives. 

“Violent groups understand the power of information,” he said. “Our responsibility is to ensure that media and community voices are not exploited to inflame tensions but are instead used to promote understanding, resilience, and peace.”

In another session, Abdussamad Ahmad, HumAngle’s Human Security and Policy Analyst, introduced participants to in-house tools, including the HumAngle FOI Hub and Maps.HumAngle, designed to help civil society organisations and local communities strengthen advocacy and accountability efforts.

“Our hope is that over time, stronger multistakeholder networks that understand their local contexts will be built and sustained,” Angela added. 

Since its launch, the APSJ Project has hosted similar roundtable discussions in northwestern Nigeria. The initiative has also trained journalists and awarded grants to those reporting on grassroots peacebuilding efforts across the country, particularly in Adamawa, Borno, Cross River, Lagos, and Taraba states.