Jon Voight: Unlikely to Be Grandfather of the Year
It is no secret that Voight and daughter Angelina Jolie are not on speaking terms. The source of the initial estrangement is said to have been Voight’s infidelity when he was married to Angelina Jolie’s mother, and his subsequent abandonment of the family. Though Jon Voight’s career was successful, garnering him an Oscar and several nominations, Angelina’s childhood was marked by financial struggle.
And boy, can Angelina hold a grudge.
In some ways, her meteoric rise to fame seems like one long and uninterrupted act of rebellion against her father. When Angelina Jolie won her own Academy Award for her stunning work in Girl, Interrupted, she was publicly gracious about her father’s role in her life. But she later told James Lipton during an Actor’s Studio interview that she didn’t keep her Oscar; she gave it to her mother.
Whereas Voight is an artist’s actor, carefully considering each role, and worrying deeply about the integrity of each script, Angelina treats her movie career with flippancy. She talks about acting as if it were just something she does to make enough money to fund her philanthropic interests. For Angelina, it seems making movies is just a job, and living well is the best revenge.
The message to her father isn’t subtle: I’m younger than you, richer than you, more famous than you, a better actor than you, and I barely have to try.
For a time, the relationship between Voight and Jolie seemed to get better. The two of them even starred together in Lara Croft: Tomb Raiders. And the father and daughter had nothing but glowing praise for one another while promoting the film.
But soon afterwards, Voight began making unflattering public statements about his daughter to the media, including a humiliating public plea that she “get help” for “her mental problems.”
Now, Angelina Jolie is a strange woman. No one can argue with that. From her myriad tattoos, to her bizarre marriages, and her over-honest answers to every question directed at her-it’s clear she’s a sandwich short of a picnic. But general experience suggests that concerned parents pick up a telephone to call their children, not Access Hollywood.
When Angelina took offense, Voight publicly opined that his daughter had “stolen” Brad Pitt from “that beautiful woman”, Jennifer Aniston.
Angelina now seems to be ignoring her father, and the accompanying publicity feeding frenzy, as she goes about her work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN. But the saga of Jon Voight using the media in his feud with his daughter doesn’t appear to be over, by a long shot.
Reportedly indifferent towards his adopted grandchildren, Voight took a sudden interest in becoming a grandfather this year when he learned that Angelina Jolie was pregnant. Since the birth of baby Shiloh, Voight has made repeated public requests to see his grandchildren. His most recent, and most embarrassing, was on the red carpet outside a British awards show.
First, while playing the martyred grandfather, he made a plea to the camera, sending birthday wishes to his grandson Maddox. Then he said: “And send my love to, uh, Shakira . . . and Shahira.”
The reporter had to tell the man his own granddaughter’s name was Zahara.
And even then, he couldn’t get it right. “Shahara!” he cried.
In fairness, most grandparents have had these kinds of senior moments. My own grandmother used to call out every name of every relative in the family before finally giving up and shouting, “Hey You!”
But my grandmother also wasn’t trying to humiliate me on public television.
Voight’s insistence on taking the squabble public isn’t just unseemly, it’s also, dare-we-say-it, kind of crazy. It’s the kind of behavior that suggests Angelina Jolie isn’t entirely mistaken to keep the kids away.
If Voight’s antics are intended to draw attention to a career in its twilight, these stunts are like Hollywood gold. But if Voight is actually trying to reconcile with his daughter, and be a good grandfather, he should probably rethink his strategy.
