Angelina Jolie’s Divorce Case Being Handled By Fixer Who Inspired ‘Scandal’s’ Olivia Pope

Angelina Jolie has brought on the real-life Olivia Pope to handle her divorce case. The legendary crisis manager, Judy Smith, who inspired Kerry Washington’s powerful fictional character on Scandal, will consult with Angelina Jolie’s team to figure out the details of her divorce with Brad Pitt.

The addition of the Olivia Pope inspiration to Jolie’s PR and legal squad makes it a true dream team. Judy Smith’s term as a White House deputy press secretary inspired Scandal‘s creators so much that they made the popular ABC drama based on her. Now the head of Smith & Company, who is also producer of the show based on her, is going to put her weight behind Angelina Jolie.

E! News confirms that Judy Smith is on Jolie’s team.

“She is typically a calming non-combative influence. Certainly seems like someone to give better advice than what she has been apparently been getting.”

Both women are champions in their respective fields, and it will be interesting to see how Brad Pitt and his team fare against them when they come together.

Angelina Jolie, ‘Olivia Pope’ Together Too Much For Brad Pitt?

The 41-year-old Angelina Jolie filed the divorce petition against her star husband on September 19. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their separation, after having stayed together for 12 long years. Their separation has become as big a headline as their affair had become, back when Pitt was married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston.

Pitt also finds himself in the middle of allegations that he physically, as well as verbally, abused one of the couple’s children after getting drunk on a plane. The couple have six children together, three of which are adopted.

It has been reported that Jolie is now keeping the children away from Pitt. She has asked for sole physical custody for all of them, and has offered their father only visitation rights. This could change, however, as both actors realize the importance of co-parenting their children.

Obviously, Angelina Jolie is deadly serious about her family situation. The move to bring someone as renowned as Olivia Pope’s real-life counterpart to aid her in this time of crisis shows that she’s not going to pull any punches.

Discretion And Children’s Custody Could Be Priority

The first thing Judy Smith might take care of is to bring some much-needed discretion into the whole matter, which has predictably turned into a full-blown public scandal. According to People, keeping things discreet is one of Smith’s supreme talents — just like Olivia Pope.

“Judy has been asked to consult with those working with Angelina on divorce negotiations. Judy and her firm have a long history of handling issues that have unfortunately garnered too much attention in the public eye, and she knows how to push towards resolutions that are swift and discreet.”

Discretion is definitely one thing that has been missing from the way Angelina Jolie’s divorce has progressed so far. She reportedly alleged that her husband, Brad Pitt, had alcohol issues, smoked too much marijuana, and that he was in need of anger management. She is even said to have implied that he was a bad dad.

Smith did not inspire such a formidable character as Scandal’s Olivia Pope for nothing. She knows exactly how to deal with such high-profile cases, especially ones that are under intense public scrutiny. In the past she has “fixed” media thunderstorms that surrounded the cases of Monica Lewinsky, Paula Deen, and Michael Vick. This time she will also have celebrated lawyer Laura Wasser to fight the case.

The most important thing for the real-life Olivia Pope in the whole scandal is handling the custody situation of the six children who are caught in the crossfire between their parents, something which will be of utmost priority for both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

[Featured Image DP/STAR MAX/IPx /AP Images]