Angelina Jolie's former friend says he's NOT '100% sure' her adopted son Maddox was an orphan - as filmmaker probes scandal of babies in Cambodia stolen from their families
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- Published on Friday, 23 July 2021 06:55
- Written by Daily mail
A former aid worker who helped Angelina Jolie adopt her son Maddox has claimed that he cannot be '100% sure' that he was an orphan.Sarath Mounh, who ran an NGO in Cambodia, became a close friend of the Hollywood star during her visits to the country from where Maddox was adopted.He also played a role in the adoption process by signing legal documents stating that he was Maddox's real father, which he is not, to help get it approved quicker by the Cambodian courts, though there is no suggestions Jolie was aware.In an exclusive interview Mr Mounh told MailOnline: 'I'm not 100% sure that Maddox was an orphan even though he came from an orphanage. At least one of the parents was possibly alive at the time of his adoption. But I never asked these difficult questions, nobody did. 'This was happening a lot in Cambodia. There were many babies who were left in orphanages or sold to them by their parents because they couldn't afford to look after them.' At the time, Kek Galibru, head of the human rights agency Licadho, who investigated the adoption, said: 'I'm sure that this child was not a real orphan and was not abandoned.' However, Jolie, 46, said she'd gone to great lengths to verify that Maddox had no living parents and has always maintained that he was an orphan.She said: 'I would never rob a mother of her child. I can only imagine how dreadful that would feel.' But the fresh questions raised by Mr Mounh come as a new documentary will probe whether babies in Cambodia were stolen from their families and put up for adoption. Filmmaker Elizabeth Jacobs, 21, will revisit the claim that 'poor Cambodian families are preyed on by baby recruiters' in her documentary, The Stolen Children.Elizabeth's parents used the services of adoption agent Lauryn Galindo, the same woman who Jolie famously used to adopt Maddox in 2002.At the time, Galindo and her sister Lynn Devin ran an adoption agency called Seattle International Adoptions, and shortly after Maddox's adoption they faced criminal charges. Devin was given a $150,000 fine for falsifying documents to obtain US visas for 'orphans' while Galindo was imprisoned for 18 months in 2004 for the same crime and money laundering. When the scandal was exposed, the U.S. government and several other countries shut down adoptions from Cambodia, with Jolie saying she knew nothing of the illegal trade. There is no evidence Maddox was not an orphan. But Mr Mounh said to MailOnline: 'When it comes to money, everything is possible. This is what I kept on hearing at the time from those around Angelina: 'Make it happen.'He added: 'Angelina didn't personally get involved. It was those around her that were handling the process and asked me to help.'Mr Mounh revealed that he was asked to get involved in the adoption because of his friendship with Jolie and on account of his influence in the Battambang Province, in North West Cambodia where his NGO was based. His organisation ran several projects such as education programmes for children, funding for poor farmers and health drives. These were all aimed at villagers in north east Cambodia.Referring to the documentary, Mr Mounh said: 'I hope it uncovers the entire adoption system in Cambodia at the time. But I don't want Maddox to be emotionally hurt by this.'His adoption was accepted by the law but to this day, I can't say for sure if he was an orphan, I don't think anyone can. But I don't want him to be damaged by what may come out.'He added: 'I want Maddox to have a good life and bright future. I still have a lot of love for him and Angelina, even though I haven't seen them in a long time.'
Mr Mounh revealed that he was asked to sign documents stating to be Maddox's father. There is no suggestion that Jolie was aware that Mr Mounh wrongly signed documents.He added: ''It's true that it was misleading when I signed the adoption papers. I was concerned that this was not honest, but I felt an obligation to sign the papers. Because of my friendship with Angelina, I wanted to help her as best I could. She was also a donor to my organisation.'Jolie provided $300,000 of funding for his NGO, with plans to donate a further $1.2 million and often came to see its work in the Battambang Province. Her own charitable foundation for Cambodia is also based in the same area.Mr Mounh, 55, met Angelina in 2000 after being introduced by the UNHCR, the United Nations refugees agency, for whom he did a lot of work helping to resettle refugees following Cambodia's brutal civil war.Jolie is a UNHCR Special Envoy and showed special interest in Mr Mounh's NGO, Cambodia Vision in Development (CVD), which has now folded.He added: 'She spent a lot of time in Cambodia from 2000 onwards, visiting our projects and we often stayed overnight together. Angelina had a lot of love for my country.'She became a very good friend and spoke openly to me about her desire to help my organisation and her hopes for Maddox.'Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt share joint custody of their six children, twins Vivienne and Knox, 12, Shiloh, 15, Maddox, 19, Zahara, 16, and Pax, 17.In addition to adopting Maddox, Jolie adopted Zahara in Ethiopia and Pax in Vietnam.Mr Mounh's youngest son Makara is the same age as Maddox and he recalled how he and Jolie discussed bringing them up as 'brothers' during her visits to Cambodia.He added: 'I wanted them to grow up together and me and Angelina would talk about this. Sadly, that's not happened.'Mr Mounh and Jolie fell out following allegations made against him that he misused funds donated by her.But he hit back: 'I can account for every dollar that was given to my organisation. I know that Angelina has nothing against me, and I still consider her a friend. It was those around her who made problems between us.'He last saw the Hollywood star and Maddox in 2003 when they visited Cambodia.Mr Mounh added: 'I follow their lives very closely through the media and would love to get back in touch with them but don't know how. I still have a lot of respect and love for both of them.'Mr Mounh fled Cambodia in 2017 fearing for his life on account of his political activities against the ruling government. He now lives in Canada with his wife and three children.MailOnline has contacted Ms Jolie's representatives for comment.
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source : Daily Mail 
Angelina Jolie manages to make beekeeping look glamorous in France
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- Published on Thursday, 22 July 2021 05:01
- Written by Page Six
She’s the bee’s knees.Angelina Jolie managed to make a full beekeeper’s suit look glamorous as she presented graduates of the French Apidology Observatory with their diplomas Wednesday.Jolie partnered with French fragrance and cosmetics house Guerlain for the “Women for bees” project, along with UNESCO and the Observatoire Français d’Apidologie.Per UNESCO, “ten women from five biosphere reserves will be welcomed to a 30-day accelerated training course at OFA’s Domaine de la Sainte-Baume (Provence, France) every year.” “Over five years, 50 participants will learn the theoretical and practical bases of beekeeping, including the running of a professional apiary.” “At the end of the training, participants will have acquired all the protocols allowing them to sustain the life of their bee colonies and to become fully professional beekeeper-entrepreneurs, and members of an international network of female beekeepers.” The program began on June 21, which means Jolie was presenting the inaugural class of the program with their credentials. She wore a tan dress and sandals for the presentation part of the ceremony, switching into the more familiar beekeeping outfit — which she paired with a set of chic boots. Jolie, 46, joins David Beckham and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea in the ranks of celebrity apiarists. The Sun reported in September that Beckham “has become a bit obsessed” with beekeeping over the course of the pandemic lockdown, “and even built a hive” at his family’s home.Flea began learning about bees in 2015, Modern Farmer reported in 2016, and has since raised (built? midwifed?) three hives totaling over 200,000 bees, which he frequently posts about on his social media channels.Jolie’s France trip may take some of the sting out of (sorry) her custody battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt. Last month, it was reported that half of the couple’s children sought to testify against Pitt at a custody hearing, but Jolie claimed the judge would not let them.The “Maleficent” actress, meanwhile, has been setting tongues to wagging by repeatedly stepping out with music star The Weeknd, though one source opined to Page Six that their relationship was strictly business: “He’s definitely focused on getting to the movie business. He has the new HBO series he’s starring in.”
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source : Page Six
What Angelina Jolie Had To Agree To In Order To Get The Tomb Raider Role
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- Published on Sunday, 18 July 2021 11:05
- Written by Nicki Swift
Angelina Jolie has been making headlines for decades. Recently, the content behind those headlines has had to do with her fizzled marriage to Brad Pitt and the contentious nature of their split. Jolie has been making big claims as the divorce rolls on, so things are clearly difficult. Will Jolie move on and find love again? That all depends on the person, because she has a really long list of deal-breakers.But before Pitt, Jolie was still a tabloid sensation. People have been obsessed with everything about her, from her most important tattoo to how she deals with personal pain. She also has an impressive net worth, so that's cool too.While Jolie is solidified as a Hollywood A-lister now, she wasn't always at the top of the food chain. In fact, when she was a new actor, trying to land the role in "Tomb Raider," she had to agree to one very unusual rule. Here's what it was.When Angelina Jolie was trying to land the role of Lara Croft in "Tomb Raider," she ended up having to agree to certain rules in order to secure her place. At the time, the actor was viewed by Hollywood as somewhat unpredictable; there were rumors of her drug use and a budding relationship with Billy Bob Thornton, according to E! News. Interestingly enough, this characterization as the wild card was actually appealing to Hollywood executives because it fed Croft's character.However, Jolie still had to agree to administered drug tests. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jolie said to Simon West, the director, "Look, I want to do it, but I know what my reputation is, and I'll do anything you want to prove that I'm worthy. I'll be reliable, and I'll turn up, and I'll work hard." Jolie added, "I don't care if the studio wants to drug test me every day." True to form, Jolie underwent urine and blood tests, which she passed. The film execs also hired people to look after her physical and mental health too, and it was well worth it because "Tomb Raider" was a massive success and Jolie became a worldwide star.
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source : Nicki Swift 
Was Maddox 'stolen from his birth family?': Fears that Angelina Jolie's son may have been adopted unethically in Cambodia to be explored again in new documentary
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- Published on Saturday, 17 July 2021 10:05
- Written by Daily mail
An upcoming documentary spotlighting the potentially unethical practices used in Cambodian adoptions will explore again whether Angelina Jolie's son Maddox 'may have been stolen from his birth family'.Jolie, 46, adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002 with the help of adoption agent Lauryn Galindo, who was jailed in 2004 for 'falsifying documents to obtain US visas for orphans'.21-year-old filmmaker Elizabeth Jacobs - whose parents also used Galindo to facilitate their child's adoption from Cambodia - will revisit the claim that 'poor Cambodian families are preyed on by baby recruiters' in her forthcoming documentary, The Stolen Children.The Sun has revealed that Jacobs, who is a film and marketing student at the University of Massachusetts, is determined to uncover the truth about Galindo's adoptions.The paper further reports that between 1997 and 2001 half of adoptions from Cambodia to the US - approximately 800 out of 1600 - went through Galindo.At the time, Galindo and her sister Lynn Devin ran an adoption agency called Seattle International Adoptions, and shortly after Jolie adopted her son Maddox, Galindo and Devin faced criminal charges.Devin faced a $150,000 fine while Galindo was jailed for falsifying names, birth dates and places of birth of Cambodian children she helped to place with US families two years after Jolie and her then-husband Billy Bob Thornton took full custody of Maddox.When the scandal was exposed, the U.S. government and several other countries shut down adoptions from Cambodia, with Jolie saying she knew nothing of the illegal trade. There is no evidence Maddox was not an orphan.Jolie insisted at the time that she went to 'great lengths to ensure Maddox did not have a living birth-mother in Cambodia' and that she would 'never rob a mother of her child.'Galindo told The Sun in a recent statement that she would be happy to answer any questions Jacobs may have, but insisted the young filmmaker has not reached out to her yet.She denied that any of her practices had ever been illegal, hailing herself as 'a champion of children'.Galindo added she has 'no reason to believe' that Maddox's adoption was unethical and seemingly confirmed that she had worked with Jolie on the process, saying she 'knew' that Angelina was in Namibia at the time filming Beyond Borders and adding that there was 'no interference' by Jolie. Jacobs also spoke to the paper, saying she is concerned Galindo's practices were fraudulent, and is 'determined' to talk about the 'scandal' surrounding adoptions in Cambodia.MailOnline has reached representatives for Jolie and Jacobs for comment. Jacobs' parents Karen, 60, and Erich, 56, kept their adoption documents, however only looked through them last year, discovering Galindo's name stamped across papers.According to Jacobs, the documents show discrepancies, with orphanage papers showing one birth date and government documents showing another.Karen insists Galindo never disclosed any information to her regarding Jacobs' real parents, telling Karen they perished in a flood.Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt share joint custody of their six children, twins Vivienne and Knox, 12, Shiloh, 15, Maddox, 19, Zahara, 16, and Pax, 17.Maddox was adopted from an orphanage in Cambodia, while Jolie adopted Zahara in Ethiopia and Pax in Vietnam.In 2017 a Cambodian aid worker claimed the documentation Jolie used to adopt her eldest son contained false information.Mounh Sarath, 53, wrote that he was the father of Maddox Jolie-Pitt on the boy's adoption papers in order to speed up the process of passing him into Jolie's care in 2003. Despite the claims there is no suggestion that Jolie nor her then husband, Billy Bob Thornton, who adopted Maddox too, knew that Sarath did as he alleges.At the time of Maddox's adoption, the US had imposed tougher restrictions on adopting children from Cambodia due to trafficking fears.That same year, the actress directed First They Killed My Father, a movie about the 1975 to 1979 genocide of 1.7 million Cambodians during communist dictator Pol Pot's regime.Most died from either starvation, disease or were killed in mass executions, and Jolie admitted making the film had made her better understand her son's country of birth.She said: 'This country means a great deal to me, this country has been through so much. This war affected every single individual here, and I wanted to understand myself.'I don't know much of Maddox's birth parents, but I believe they would have gone through this war.'
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source : Daily mail
Angelina Jolie showcases slim figure in all black as she treats daughter Zahara to shopping trip at Fred Segal in West Hollywood
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- Published on Thursday, 15 July 2021 10:43
- Written by Daily mail
She has reportedly enjoyed numerous 'secret dates' with The Weeknd.And Angelina Jolie was seen enjoying one-on-one time with someone special but it was not the Blinding Lights hitmaker.The 46-year-old A-lister was seen treating 16-year-old daughter Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt to a shopping trip at Fred Segal in West Hollywood on Tuesday.The Oscar-winner showcased her slim figure in all black including clinging long-sleeved top, skinny jeans, and leather boots.Her signature raven-colored tresses were worn down and flowing over her shoulders as she gripped onto a bag full of purchases from the specialty shop Ron Herman inside of the Fred Segal store. She accessorized with a black face mask with matching leather designer bag.Zahara donned a white top with black shorts and white shoes as her mom handed her the bag of purchases.Not seen on the outing were five of her other six-children whom she shares with ex-husband Brad; Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Shiloh, 15, and 13-year-old twins Knox and Vivian.Angelina filed for divorce in 2016 citing 'irreconcilable differences' and it was finalized in 2019. The former pair have been in a lengthy custody battle with the actress wanting sole custody and Brad fighting for joint.Last month, Angelina was reportedly left 'bitterly disappointed' after a court awarded joint custody to her ex Brad, a decision was allegedly set to contest in early July. Legal experts in Los Angeles told DailyMail.com in March that the pair have each spent over $1million in legal costs already - and said the custody battle could go on for six more years. Despite the drama, Angelina has reportedly set her sights on finding love again, with the actress rumored to have been 'spotted on another secret date' with The Weeknd at a private concert in Los Angeles over the weekend.Images of the stars attending Mustafa's private concert appeared on the Instagram account Deuxmoi, which showed The Weeknd with a group of friends and Angelina sitting with daughters Shiloh, 15, and 16-year-old Zahara.A Twitter fan account for the Blinding Lights singer, 31, also posted the images of Angelina with her kids and The Weeknd.Earlier this month, the Oscar-winning actress and The Weekend set the internet into a frenzy after they were seen dining at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica and they have continued to heat up speculation with their latest outing.While an insider told The Sun the pair are just 'just friends' now, the singer 'made no secret of the fact he has a huge crush on her' for years.While the pair are not known to be friends, there are some intriguing links between them, including the singer referencing Angelina's famous pout in one of his hit songs. Prior to being romantically linked with The Weeknd, Angelina was rumored to have reconnected with her ex-husband Jonny Lee Miller.
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source : Daily mail
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