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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have initiated legal proceedings against News of the World, which wrongly claimed last month that the couple was set to split.

The paper’s bombshell story on January 24 purported to have details about Pitt and Jolie agreeing to divide their assets and make custody arrangements for the children, setting off an avalanche of new speculation that the high-profile Hollywood relationship was coming to an end. The report went so far as to say Pitt and Jolie had visited with a divorce attorney, had already signed an agreement, and that a breakup was imminent.

As Gossip Cop reported immediately after the News of the World-fueled breakup rumors exploded, sources told us the story was not true.

Today’s news corroborates our reporting.

A lawyer for the couple, Keith Schilling, called the “widely republished” allegations in News of the World “false and intrusive.” Pitt and Jolie have requested a retraction. The attorney’s statement also notes that Sorrell Trope, identified widely as the divorce lawyer advising the couple, has never even met them.

It’s looking more and more like media outlets acted recklessly when reprinting the News of the World‘s Brangelina reporting last month. Gossip Cop hopes they’re just as quick to spread a retraction.

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