Angelina Jolie — who’s famous in Hollywood for being the rare A-list star who doesn’t have a publicist — has been discreetly reaching out to powerful Hollywood p.r. pros behind the scenes, Page Six has learned, amid her acrimonious divorce from Brad Pitt.
Sources tell Page Six that Jolie — who told the Hollywood Reporter in 2014, “I had [a publicist] once, years ago . . . I didn’t like it” — has apparently had a change of heart and is seeking an image overhaul after her divorce battle with Pitt has been waged in the press.
Since her shock divorce filing in September, Jolie’s circle of advisers has not included a traditional celebrity p.r. rep. Instead Jolie retained Washington, DC, crisis specialist Judy Smith, and she also reportedly brought back onboard her former manager Geyer Kosinski, with whom she split in 2013.
Page Six further reported that Jolie, a UN special envoy, was also getting advice from Lady Arminka Helic — a former adviser to Britain’s ex-Foreign Secretary William Hague — as well as fellow former Hague aide Chloe Dalton.
But another insider pointed out that Jolie has a film coming out, “First They Killed My Father,” on Netflix. “She’s got a film coming out on Cambodia and will be doing promotion around that,” the source said of why she would seek any p.r.
Yet we hear that Jolie’s inner circle has been quietly making calls to find her a showbiz spin doctor. So far, no top Hollywood publicist’s jumped at the chance.
Pitt seemingly won in court last month, having custody documents pertaining to the couple’s six kids sealed after his side accused Jolie of leaking “sensitive information” about their temporary agreement in her court filings. Her side shot back that Pitt wanted the papers sealed because he was “terrified that the public will learn the truth.”
He then appeared at the Golden Globes for the movie “Moonlight,” which he executive produced, and got a very warm welcome. Jolie’s just penned a New York Times op-ed on the refugee crisis. A rep for Jolie did not comment.