Angelina Jolie’s oldest son, Maddox, may not have been an orphan at the time he was adopted by the actress.
In an interview with The Daily Mail, a close friend of the star claimed that he sped along the adoption process by signing legal documents claiming he was the boy’s real father, which he is not, to help it get approved in the Cambodian courts.
Sarath Mounh, who ran a nonprofit in Cambodia told the outlet, “I'm not 100% sure that Maddox was an orphan even though he came from an orphanage. At least one of the parents was possibly alive at the time of his adoption. But I never asked these difficult questions, nobody did.
“This was happening a lot in Cambodia. There were many babies who were left in orphanages or sold to them by their parents because they couldn't afford to look after them.”
According to Mounh, Jolie’s team was insistent that he make the adoption happed but added, “Angelina didn’t get personally involved. It was those around her that were handling the process and asked me to help.
At the time of the adoption, the actress said she went to great lengths to verify that Maddox had no living parents and said, “I would never rob a mother of her child. I can only imagine how dreadful that would feel.”