Shiloh Jolie ‘hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself’ to drop ‘Pitt’ from her name

It feels like most people dipped out of the Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt divorce story years ago, which is why Shiloh’s news last week came as a huge shock to many. Last week, Shiloh turned 18 years old. On her birthday, her lawyer filed paperwork to change Shiloh’s legal name from Shiloh Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie. This follows Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Vivienne also dropping “Pitt” from their names in school and elsewhere, but as far as anyone can tell, Shiloh is the first kid to make a legal change.

Now, for those of us who followed the divorce story and the lawsuits, countersuits and FBI files, we know why the kids want nothing to do with their father. The plane incident in 2016 was the turning point: Brad Pitt terrorized his wife and children for hours, assaulting not only Angelina but at least two of the kids (striking one child in the face and choking another), with the other children witnessing all of it. Everything that came after the plane incident is notable here too – the abusive campaign waged against Angelina in the media, Brad’s attempts to financially abuse her for years, that dirty work with the compromised judge. In any case, Angelina’s people let it be known that Shiloh made her own decision to drop “Pitt” from her name. Shiloh went out and hired her own lawyer!!

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh took it upon herself to change her last name.

A source close to the matter told PEOPLE the 18-year-old filed to drop Pitt from her surname, which would make her legal name Shiloh Jolie, and hired her own attorney for the process.

“Shiloh hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself,” the source said, pointing to Jolie’s allegations of an “abuse history” as part of the reason for the name change.

Shiloh filed legal documents, obtained by PEOPLE, to drop Pitt from her last name on May 27, which was her 18th birthday.

In addition to Shiloh, Pitt, 60, and Jolie, 48, share five other children — Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Knox, 15, and Vivienne, 15.

Two of Shiloh’s siblings also appear to have removed Pitt from their last name. Vivienne is listed as “Vivienne Jolie” in the playbill for the Broadway show The Outsiders, which is produced by Jolie. Zahara, meanwhile, joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at Spelman College in November, and introduced herself there as Zahara Marley Jolie.

[From People]

A source also told Entertainment Tonight something similar: “Shiloh hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself, so Angie doesn’t know and can’t speak for it.” Yeah, it sounds like Shiloh is exceptionally close to her siblings and they’ve all discussed this name issue amongst themselves and Shiloh was like “I’m going to do it on my birthday.” I love that she went out and hired a lawyer herself. Amazing.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.