American actor, Brad Pitt is reportedly ‘upset and aware’ that his daughter Shiloh filed to drop his last name on her 18th birthday.
A source close to the 60-year-old Oscar winner said his erasure from his daughter’s life is just another indication that he has ‘lost his children,’ according to People.
‘He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name,’ the source claimed. ‘He’s never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter.’
Notably, Pitt was already in the process of legally adopting a daughter who had been a part of his life for months before he and his then-partner Angelina Jolie, 49, had announced she was pregnant with Shiloh in January 2006.
Jolie had travelled to Ethiopia to adopt her first daughter Zahara, 19, in July 2005, and Pitt had come with her on the trip.
He was reported to be in the process of becoming Zahara’s adopted father in December 2005, a month before he and Jolie announced her pregnancy.
‘The reminders that he’s lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad,’ the source continued. ‘He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad.’
They added that the distance between Pitt and his six children — Maddox, 22; Pax, 20; Zahara; Shiloh; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15 — ‘pains him.’
However, they noted that ‘he’s still happy with Ines [de Ramon],’ his girlfriend.
Another source described as close to Pitt told the publication that the Tree Of Life star ‘still loves all of his kids tremendously.’
‘This whole process has been very hard for the whole family,’ they added.
If Shiloh’s request is granted she will subsequently go simply by ‘Shiloh Jolie,’ rather than her original full name, ‘Shiloh Jolie-Pitt.’
People previously reported that Pitt’s youngest daughter Vivienne, who served as her mother Angelina Jolie’s assistant when she produced the Broadways musical adaptation of The Outsiders had listed her name as ‘Vivienne Jolie’ in the Playbill for the show.
It is unclear if Vivienne has legally changed her name, but the minor would likely need either parental consent or extenuating circumstances to be allowed to do so before turning 18.
Zahara previously introduced herself as ‘Zahara Marley Jolie’ when she joined the Mu Pi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Spelman College late last year.
Pitt and Jolie’s oldest sons, Maddox and Pax, have reportedly not publicly used their father’s last name in years.
Pitt and Jolie began dating publicly shortly after he and his then-wife Jennifer Aniston announced their divorce in 2005.
Two years later, the Maleficent actress filed for divorce in 2016. She and Pitt were declared legally single in 2019.
However, the two stars have been embroiled in an ongoing divorce battle over assets and custody for years since.