Pitt, Jolie Hacking Victims in Rupert Murdoch Journalism Scandal
Pitt and Jolie were hacking victims in the steadily growing scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid, former editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, and various targets for exposure. Tuesday, British officials released more names of at least 600 suspected of being hacked between 2000 and 2006.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were hacking victims apparently because of their celebrity status; as Hollywood royalty, Murdoch's News of the World tabloid was interested in Jolie's adoption of Ethiopian Zahara Marley in July 2005. Next year, Jolie had Shiloh Nouvel with Brad Pitt, raising speculation around the couple even higher.
The Crown Prosecution Service released to the public that Coulson and Brooks were part of at least eight people accused of hacking celebrities and others' phones for access to private information, which would then be released via the tabloid. The worst of the victims, perhaps, was Amanda "Milly" Dowler, a 13-year-oldkidnapping victim.
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News of the World journalists were accused of hacking the phone of Dowler, listening to her voicemails, and deleting them to make room for new ones. The deleted voicemails gave her family members hope that the missing girl was still alive, but she was found murdered six months after her 2002 abduction.
The gross misconduct alleged by investigators sparked national interest in the case in Britain in 2006, and the Dowler family sued the publisher for $4.7 milliion.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are far from being the only prominent people on the list of victims in the widespread phone hacking scandal. Jude Law won a significant settlement from News of the World after they hacked his phone after he cheated on his fiancé, Sienna Miller, with his nanny.
Sadie Frost, a designer and actress, sued the paper for information hacked from her phone that was leaked to various media outlets across the U.K. Former Beatle Paul McCartney was also a victim after he left his second wife, Heather Mills.
