Hurricane Katrina Victims Suing Brad Pitt Claim Actor's Charity Was A Publicity Stunt
Angelina's ex is now 'conveniently ignoring' fraud accusations, plaintiffs say.
Dec. 12 2018, Updated 5:58 p.m. ET
The Hurricane Katrina victims suing Brad Pitt and his Make It Right Foundation believe he only created the charity to make himself look good, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report.
Angelina Jolie's ex has been battling plaintiffs Lloyd Francis and Jennifer Decuir in court for months. The Louisiana residents claimed Pitt's foundation built defective homes to hurricane survivors after they lost everything.
Last month, Pitt filed a fiery response, asking the court to dismiss the accusations against him because the argument contained "no facts," RadarOnline.com reported.
Now, according to documents filed Tuesday, the angry residents are claiming Pitt, 54, is a coward for attempting to take no responsibility for the charity's mistakes, despite the fact that he founded the organization.
"Mr. Pitt gladly accepted responsibility for his personal participation when the publicity was favorable," the plaintiffs wrote in the scathing legal document. "But now that the suit has been filed, defendant would have the court believe he is little more than a neutral observer, who had no personal participation, in the development of the project in the choices of the designs and sub-contractors, and in the decisions to withhold information about the defective conditions from the homeowners."
READ THE SHOCKING COURT FILING
The Louisiana homeowners added that Pitt has known about the homeowners' issues for years.
"Mr. Pitt acknowledged his personal participation before this lawsuit was filed," the plaintiffs stated. "Mr. Pitt acknowledged his personal participation in mistakes, before this lawsuit was filed."
Plaintiffs also slammed Pitt for giving multiple interviews that made him look like a hero when he first founded the foundation.
"Mr. Pitt received all of the accolades when it appeared the people of the Lower Ninth Ward were being helped by him. But when it surfaced that these homeowners, who are burned with 30-year mortgages on homes that may not last another five years, defendant seeks to be dismissed from legal scrutiny by conveniently ignoring his personal participation and plaintiffs' allegations of fraud," the document stated.
Pitt's Make It Right Foundation was created in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans. The goal was to replace the destroyed houses with 150 state-of-the-art homes.
Unhappy homeowners who filed the lawsuit complained that their new homes had mold growth, significant structural problems and water intrusion.
Do you think Pitt created the foundation for good publicity? Sound off in the comments.
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