Hollywood star Angelina Jolie found herself at the center of an online firestorm after a new magazine photoshoot reignited conversations about her health and her high-profile legal battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt.
The Oscar-winning actress, who has been open for more than a decade about undergoing preventive cancer surgeries, was met with a wave of criticism from trolls who questioned her motives, even as supporters rushed to defend her message and intent.
Highlights
- Angelina Jolie faced online trolling after revealing her mastectomy scars in a Time France photoshoot.
- Critics claimed that the images were a distraction from her ongoing legal battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt.
- Sources close to Jolie said she shared the photos out of advocacy and solidarity with other women.
Angelina Jolie said sharing her scars was about solidarity with other women, not spectacle
Image credits: TIME France
The controversy followed Jolie’s appearance on the December cover of Time France, where she posed in a low-cut jumper with her hand partially covering her chest. The photos visibly showed the scars from her double mastectomy.
Jolie, 50, had the surgery in 2013 after she learned that she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation, which significantly increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Image credits: TIME France
Speaking directly to Time France, Jolie explained her decision to showcase her scars in her photos. “I share these scars with many women I love. And I'm always moved when I see others share theirs,” she said.
According to an OK! report, Jolie’s photos were aimed at raising awareness about cancer prevention. They were also intended to support women who were facing similar health challenges.
Image credits: TIME France
Apart from her double mastectomy, Jolie also underwent surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes as further preventive measures.
Her decision was shaped by family history. Her mother, French actress Marcheline Bertrand, passed away from ovarian cancer in 2007, while her grandmother and aunt also lost their lives to cancer.
Friends have stated that history continues to drive Jolie’s advocacy, which has long focused on awareness and early testing, among others.
Internet trolls proceeded to accuse Jolie of “timing” the photoshoot around her long legal battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt
Image credits: TIME France
Despite Jolie's long history of advocacy, the photoshoot quickly became a target for online criticism. Some trolls accused Jolie of “seeking attention” and claimed the images were deliberately released to distract from her ongoing legal and business dispute with ex-husband Brad Pitt, 62, over their shared French winery, Château Miraval.
According to a source close to the actress, those accusations deeply missed the mark. “She is proud of what she's done and why she's sharing it,” the source said.
Image credits: TIME France
“But people are twisting it, linking it to everything else going on in her life. The online abuse has been brutal, and it's compounded by the legal fight over the winery.”
Another source pushed back even harder against the narrative circulating among her critics. “These people should be ashamed of themselves,” the source said. “They are opportunists after web clicks, as Angelina's photoshoot clearly has nothing to do with some crackpot theory she bared all to tray and draw some kind of sympathy vote from lawmakers and fans.”
Image credits: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images
A media analyst cited by OK! shared the same sentiments. “She's using her platform to support millions of women who are dealing with cancer risks," the analyst said. "It's brave, and it's separate from any other dispute she has going on.”
Angelina Jolie’s legal battle with Brad Pitt over their winery has been long and complicated
Jolie’s photoshoot landed amid her long-running and increasingly complex legal dispute between her and Brad Pitt over Château Miraval. Their fight has intensified following recent court rulings favoring Pitt.
As part of the case, Jolie has faced demands to turn over private communications connected to her 2021 sale of her stake in the French winery to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli Group.
Image credits: Julian Parker/Getty Images
Pitt had alleged that Jolie’s sale of her stake breached a prior agreement that required mutual consent. Jolie has disputed these claims.
The ongoing case has become so tangled that one legal source described it as “labyrinthine,” but sources close to Jolie strongly rejected any suggestion that her health advocacy was connected to the dispute.
Image credits: Harald Krichel/Wikimedia
An entertainment industry insider said, “Ange and Brad’s winery fight is ongoing, as it has been for years, but it’s unfair to link her health advocacy to a legal matter. The trolling has nothing to do with the important message she’s sending.”
Netizens shared their thoughts on Angelina Jolie’s recent photoshoot and her encounter with trolls on social media
