Discussion Post: The next Jolie-Pitt adoption
April 6, 2009 by Sherry
We all know that it’s coming eventually and a lot of media sources have already started speculating: The next Jolie-Pitt adoption. Both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have said they aren’t finished with having kids yet and we know that adoption is still very important to them. They’ve also said in the past that they would like to have a physical balance as far as ethnicity is concerned – for example, they adopted Pax from Vietnam to share some Asian heritage and identity with older brother Maddox from Cambodia.
It stands to reason, then, that they would likely adopt another child from Africa as they did when they adopted Zahara from Ethiopia, or perhaps a child with darker skin from South America. Whether it would be a girl or a boy, I don’t know, and I’m not sure if gender necessarily matters to them.
Obviously we have no way of knowing unless either Brad or Angelina talks to the media and says, “We’re adopting a child from [whichever country] next month!” Which, of course, is highly unlikely!
However, it’s fun to guess and we always have such great conversations in the discussion posts, so in light of a slow-down on the news right now, let’s talk about where Brad and Angelina might go to adopt next!
(Please keep in mind that the majority of us are not necessarily aware of all the international adoption laws, so if anyone should mention countries where it would be just about impossible, kindly refrain from attacking – this is just for fun after all!)
I could have seen the rumor about an adoption in India being true until people mentioned how difficult it would be – having read up on the international adoption laws in India now, I realize that even if they wanted to, it would be a near impossibility.
I see them going back to Africa at this point. They might even go back to Ethiopia specifically. It’s very dear to their hearts, and not just because Zahara was born there but also because they have their clinic that they started there to help treat patients with tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS (through the Jolie-Pitt Foundation). I don’t know what other countries are like for adoption laws (recent news about Madonna’s adoption attempt in Malawi springs to mind), but if they don’t have any specific laws, Darfur might be another option for them – Angelina Jolie visited refugees in Darfur through the UNHCR and saw first-hand how in need the country’s people are.
Another question, which is more interesting to me than whether it will be a boy or a girl, is will it be a baby or an older child? Zahara was a baby when she was adopted (though not a newborn), whereas Pax was a bit older. With their current family dynamic – two twin babies, three pre-schoolers, and an older child – I wonder which would work best for them. I can’t even guess!
Like I said before, for all we know, they may have already filed the preliminary work somewhere to prepare for adopting. Angelina had mentioned they wouldn’t start the adoption process until Knox and Vivienne were six months old due to legal reasons, but that deadline has passed now. In some places, adoption can pass fairly swiftly, but in other countries the wait time can be quite lengthy so they may have needed to get started right away. Maybe while we’re guessing the origins of the next Jolie-Pitt child, they’re already half way through the set-up.
What do you think?
(Thanks to joliepittfanatic for suggesting this topic!)
Image used with permission: Newscom
Lol, you’re quite right joliepittfanatic! I was busy being politically correct that I totally missed being correct:) By the way, I was adopted twice within the same family!
Last night I was reading some old tabloid “stories” about the J-Ps (while I don’t actively search for tab “stories” I DO sometimes stumble across them when searching for other J-P related things…or for tab cover pictures, which I sometimes do just for fun and to have a good laugh!)…and I really had to chuckle at one of them.
The “story” was the one about them adopting an Ethiopian girl that circulated earlier this year and was started by Out of Touch. According to Out of Touch, Angie was going to go to Addis Ababba (the capital city) to file the adoption papers…and then pick up the new J-P two days later!
Clearly the tabs have absolutly no clue about how the adoption process works! I mean, maybe celebs get preferential treatment in some countries, but even they cannot adopt a child in just two days!
Oh, and I also wanted to say that, after reading the above-mentioned “story”, I can now see why some people complain that Angie “collects” kids. Some of those people probably are just h8ters looking for any excuse to bash Angie, but some of them are probably people who get their J-P “news” from tabs.
If you relied only on the tabs for J-P “news”, then you would probably get the impression that she “collects” kids! Good thing we Pittwatchers don’t take the tabs seriously!
Why not a white child, perhaps from somewhere like Russia, even closer to home in the US? It would send a powerful message to all 6 of her children that Asian and African are not the only ones who need to be “helped”. All children need and deserve loving adoptive parents.
Auntie- First of all, I want to thank you keeping your comment respectful. Unfourtantely, a lot of other people who make similar comments don’t do so.
Anyway, I see your point. However, they have talked about wanting to balance the races in the house, and so far Shi and the twins have each other, and Maddox has Pax (and vice versa). So, logically, it seems like they will next adopt an African sibling for Zee.
That said, they may adopt a white child in the future, but I doubt it will be from the U.S. Some one please correct me if I’m wrong, but, from what I’ve heard, you generally aren’t allowed to adopt from the U.S. if you have a past history of substance abuse, and Angie has been very open about the fact that she abused drugs in the past.
Also, I think their family size would disqualify them for adopting in the U.S.
All of that said, however, I think that might actually make a good discussion topic: Why don’t Angie and Brad adopt in the U.S. (as long as it was made clear that, as with all Pittwatch discussion posts, it was for dicussing the topic, NOT bashing Angie and Brad for not adopting kids from the U.S.!)?
UNDER MOD- Response to Auntie.
Hello, thank you for not reacting too negatively to my comment. The Pitt-Jolies have every right to focus on balancing out the races in their own family. I myself am an Asian, living in Southeast Asia where poverty does in fact generate enormous needs for good adoptive parents. Adopting a white brother or sister can send a powerful message to the non-white siblings that Asians and Blacks aren’t in some way “weaker”, in the sense that they need rescuing more than white kids. Peace – Auntie
JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE, LET THEM BE A FAMILY LIKE WE ALL ARE TRYING TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEY BRAD & ANG, YOU REMIND ME OF ME & MY HUSBAND’S RELATIONSHIP & OUR FAMILY.
THANKS…..