Angelina Jolie Using Billionaire Friend Salma Hayek to ‘Ratchet Up Her Power’ in Brad Pitt Battle

Angelina Jolie has been cozying up to Salma Hayek of late, according to a source who exclusively reveals to In Touch that the Maleficent star is desperately hoping her high-powered Hollywood pal will help boost her bank balance as she spends a fortune on legal fees fighting Brad Pitt in court.

“Angelina has met plenty of billionaires during her career as an actress,” the source says, “but the friendship she has forged with Salma over the last few years is a different animal altogether and really ratchets up Angelina’s power in the business.”

Salma, who alone has a net worth of over $200 million, married billionaire luxury-brand mogul François-Henri Pinault, who boasts an impressive stack of cash with a net worth of $7 billion, in 2009. The From Dusk Till Dawn actress, 57, is currently working with Angelina, 49, as the lead in her upcoming film.

“Their next project together is Angelina’s film, Without Blood, which will roll out this fall on the festival circuit,” the source says, “but the reality is that it was a pandemic-conceived project for Angelina that she has been quietly working on for the last three years and which she directed prior to acting in her Maria Callas biopic that is also getting released this year.”

“Angelina and Salma have a deep, ongoing collaboration that hasn’t let up since they shot Eternals together almost six years ago.”

With two cinematic irons in the Hollywood fire, Angelina would no doubt love for her legal troubles with her ex, Brad Pitt, to be wrapped up neat and tidy by the time both movies plan to release this fall. However, the insider says that’s an unlikely outcome.

The Fight Club star, 60, is certainly putting up a tough one when it comes to his ex-wife, from whom he was declared legally single in 2019. They still have yet to finalize the divorce, but, given the fact they’ve been feuding over a winery they used to co-own and Brad has decided to sue the Girl, Interrupted star over their contract, reconciliation is a long-shot.

“How does [Angie and Salma’s working relationship] impact Angelina’s ongoing legal battle with her ex-Brad Pitt?” the source continues. “Well, it certainly helps to have a massive fortune like Salma’s in your corner, and not just for the purposes of getting a film financed.”

The former couple’s legal issues don’t stop there. Brad had initially been given joint custody of their children in 2021, but the decision was reversed after the presiding judge was removed from the case, giving Angelina full custody as well as another legal front on which Brad can attack. Luckily, with Salma and her billionaire beau in her corner, Angelina has resources to spare for her defense.

“Salma and her husband have a level of expertise and contacts in the Europe-based luxury world that matches and even surpasses the resources Brad has wielded in his fight with Angelina.”

“You can bet that Angelina is going to call on that support as she looks for some kind of resolution to her and Brad’s conflict.”