Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt‘s oldest daughter, Zahara, proudly joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at Spelman College, a historically Black women’s liberal arts college in Atlanta, in November 2023. Gaining a new group of sisters at the sorority founded in 1908, the then-sophomore owned the headlines for her extravagant, head-turning introduction at the event. (Also read: Angelina Jolie ends two-year-long legal battle with FBI over records about Brad Pitt’s alleged physical abuse)
The sorority celebration characteristically calls for students to declare themselves during the induction ceremony, and Zahara followed suit. However, the moment became bigger than envisioned as the messy Jolie-Pitt family drama got dragged into the picture. The then-18-year-old daughter of the Eternals actress took pride in her mother’s last name and noticeably removed “Pitt” during the introduction as she shouted out, “My name is Zahara Marley Jolie. Coming all the way from the Golden State in the city that is full of angels, Los Angeles, California.”
Zahara Marley Jolie’s sorority induction video resurfaces and draws heat
The video, originally posted by Essence last year, sees Zahara walk out of a queue of students donning the customary black dress attire at the event. However, her joining the first Black sorority became an afterthought in the online exchange initiated by netizens. Months later, as the video resurfaced online amid the seemingly unending familial tensions between the members of the family, the private rift continued to be the subject of public scrutiny and commentary. Upso.Icons, an Instagram profile, dropped the old video again for public viewing two days ago, captioning the video: “Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s daughter surprises with name change. She announced what her real name was and removed her father’s last name in front of the world, showing how unique and special she is.”
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The reactions to the resurfaced video have been equally fuelled by vitriol, if not more than last time, bashing Zahara for being “ungrateful” and whatnot. Sky News Australia also shared the clip on September 26 as ‘To Di For’ podcast host Kinsey Schofield accused the Wanted actress of “poisoning” her children against Pitt. “This is called ‘parental alienation,’” Schofield told Sky News host Rita Panahi.
Angelina adopted her in 2005 from Ethiopia. Brad Pitt did the same the following year. “My daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children … And I have learned so much from her,” Jolie said, proud of her daughter’s African roots during a TIME 100 Talk in 2020. “She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, is her own and it’s something I only stand back in awe of.”
The Salt actress announced that Zahara would attend Spelman College in 2022 with an IG post of her daughter posing for a picture alongside other freshmen. “Zahara with her Spelman sisters! Congratulations to all new students starting this year. A very special place and an honour to have a family member as a new Spelman girl.”
Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt family rift and messy divorce
Interestingly, Shiloh is the only Jolie-Pitt child to have legally gone through with the process of dropping her father’s surname. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped her siblings from publicly distancing themselves from Brad Pitt. The formerly married Mr and Mrs Smith costars share six kids and have been embroiled in a lengthy custody battle. They are parents to Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Viviene and Knox.
Of the six, Maddox, Pax and Zahara are adopted – each first adopted by Jolie and Pitt doing the same either a year or few later. Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt on September 19, 2016, citing irreconcilable differences for their separation. “This decision was made for the health of the family. She will not be commenting at this time, and asks that the family be given their privacy during this difficult time,” her lawyer said at the time, per PEOPLE’s report. Meanwhile, Pitt said in a statement, “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids. I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
Brad Pitt accused of verbal and physical abuse
Their split was reportedly connected to the F1 actor’s allegedly verbal and physical abuse of one of his kids on the couple’s private plane. Although a Pitt source said that “he did not commit any abuse of his children,” a different insider admitted that the actor was “drunk” and “there was an argument between him and Angelina.” Additionally, there was a “parent-child argument, which was not handled in the right way and escalated more than it should have.” Backing Pitt further, the source seemed to explain that as a “confrontation was spiralling out of control,” the actor made “contact with Maddox in the shoulder area, and there was absolutely no physical injury to him.”
The ex-couple’s eldest son was 15 at the time. Ultimately, the FBU ended its investigation and cleared the Wolfs actor in November 2016. He eventually opened up about his drinking problem in a GQ Style interview post the Jolie breakup. “I just ran it to the ground. I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good,” he said while emphasising that he did not want to live that way anymore.
On the other side of the conversation, Jolie’s shocking allegations against Pitt painted a different picture. She claimed that her ex-husband made her feel “like a hostage” during the infamous 2016 flight. He allegedly “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her,” pushed her into a wall and punched the plane’s ceiling. She acknowledged that when it looked like “he was going to attack” one of their kids for calling him a “prick” during the alleged altercation, she held Pitt’s neck in a choke-hold style. The report also said that Jolie’s back and elbow had been injured in addition to a “rug-bur type wound” on her hand.” Meanwhile, Pitt sustained a “scratch” which she admitted “could have been from her.”
