Brad Pitt Responds to Angelina Jolie’s Divorce Petition, Wants Joint Custody

Nearly two months after their shocking split, actor Brad Pitt is requesting joint physical custody of his kids with Angelina Jolie.

In the divorce papers that Jolie filed in September, she stated that she wanted full physical custody, with Brad being granted visitation rights. She also wanted him to have joint legal custody of their six kids — Maddox, 15; Pax, 12; Zahara, 11; Shiloh, 10; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 8.

TMZ reports that Jolie is prepared to fight Pitt in court over custody of their children. She reportedly wants him to only be given monitored visitation “until he gets his sh*t” together.

The TMZ source claims that Angelina is still concerned about Brad's alleged “substance abuse and anger issues.”

A few weeks ago, it was reported that L.A. County's Department of Children and Family Services was extending their investigation of Brad Pitt's parenting. A source told In Touch, "The investigation was not closed on schedule for a reason. The DCFS investigation is now going to continue for at least several more weeks.”

Another insider claimed, "Now DCFS is interviewing many people to determine if they are witnesses to any improper behavior by Brad as well as searching for oth­ers who have knowledge of his ac­tions. That includes nannies, house­hold staff members and more.”

Back in September, just days before the breakup, Brad and Maddox had an alleged altercation on a private plane.

Despite reports of an altercation, a close friend of Pitt defended him, telling People, “There was a parent-child argument which was not handled in the right way and escalated more than it should have.”

The pal continued, “He is emphatic that it did not reach the level of physical abuse, that no one was physically harmed. He did not hit his child in the face in any way. He did not do that; he is emphatic about that. He put his hands on him, yes, because the confrontation was spiraling out of control.”

Since the split, Brad has met with his children twice. After their temporary custody plan expired last month, Brad and Angelina agreed to undergo individual counseling and family therapy. Pitt has also accepted voluntary drug and alcohol testing.