Brangelina to sue British tabloid over breakup claims

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have begun legal action against a British tabloid that reported the celebrity couple was going to split, a lawyer acting on their behalf confirmed Monday.

Keith Schillings, of London-based Schillings lawyers, said in a statement that the couple had begun legal proceedings against the News of The World, a Sunday tabloid and Britain's highest-selling newspaper, The Associated Press reports.

He said the newspaper had made "false and intrusive allegations" when it reported Jan. 24 that Pitt and Jolie had agreed to separate, to divide assets worth $320 million and had made arrangements regarding the custody of their six children.

Lawyers for the couple lodged a claim at London's High Court yesterday to begin a legal case against the newspaper, Schillings said.

He also said Sorrell Trope, a high-profile divorce lawyer in Los Angeles, had denied claims she had been in contact with the couple, as had been reported.

On Sunday, Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, attended the Super Bowl in Miami with their son, Maddox, 8. They watched the game together from a private box at Sun Life Stadium.