Rumor: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie stress individuality with kids' bedroom decor

The $3.75 million New Orleans mansion Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie share with their four children is about to see some major changes.  A rumor published in The Mirror has the couple planning to decorate the bedrooms of Maddox, 5, Pax, 3, Zahara, 2 and Shiloh, 1 in tribute to each child’s country of birth.   According to unnamed sources:

Brad and Ange want to give the kids a strong sense of their own culture while growing up in America so they never lose the link to their past.

As such, Maddox’s room will feature Cambodian road signs and a painting of a Cambodian village, Pax will wake up to drawings of a Vietnamese jungle, Zahara will be surrounded by camels, images of the desert and Ethiopian wall hangings and Shiloh’s room will feature scenes from a Namibian village. 

Source:  The Mirror

Comments

Honestly, the rooms sound interesting, cool even. If there’s any truth to this rumor, I’d actually like to see what those rooms would look like after they were done being decorated.

- FC on May 30th, 2007

That’s awesome–and I think it’s great that they’re trying to include where their children came from. And I too would like to see the results if this happens.

- cuteasabutton on May 30th, 2007

that sounds interesting, but I wonder how they can consider Namibia to be Shiloh’s ‘culture’ just because she was born there. She is American – she doesn’t have the biological or cultural ties to Namibia that the other kids have with theirs, her only relationship with the country is purely location-related.

- lucee on May 30th, 2007

ROTFLOL!!! Shiloh is NOT from Namibia, Africa! OMG, just look at her! Descending on a foreign country in the last month of pregnancy to give birth does NOT make the baby of that nationality! Jolie and Pitt are ridiculous. Jolie was born and raised in Beverly Hills, CA, while Pitt was born and raised in Springfield, MO. Shiloh is as American as she can be. I truly believe that Angelina Jolie should be evaluated for her capacity to raise these children in a healthy and sane environment. Please God, don’t let anyone else give her any other children.

- "African" Shiloh Jolie Pitt! on May 31st, 2007

I wondered how long it would take for someone to come up with a negative about this most innocuous thing.

- sigh on May 31st, 2007

In theory this all sounds too good, what happended to them having a normal room? i.e. Dora, Elmo, etc.When they are teenagers maybe they would relate more, but I think Angelina has some issues about having the world love her and she pretends to be this perfect mother.(maybe she is) but she acts so bizarre it reminds me of Micheal Jackson’ways. And I agree, Shiloh is American and maybe her room should be in a 4th of July theme? Some food for thought.

- Evelyn MOLINA on May 31st, 2007

ITA Lucee, thats the first thing I thought when I read it.

Shiloh was born there…thats it.

- Natasha on May 31st, 2007

lucee, I was going to write the same thing!
Shiloh is american, she was just born in Namibia, but has nothing to do with the country culture…
I was born in Ecuador, but lived all my life in Peru, with peruvian parents and family, so i’m peruvian, Ecuador is just the country where I was born, that’s all. Now I live in Italy, and my daughter is italian like her dad, but for me she is half italian half peruvian, not ecuadorian.

- sil on May 31st, 2007

Nice idea but Shiloh’s heritage isn’t African

and Mad and Zee were just little babies when they left their countries and became Americans… they’d probably prefer their bedrooms disney-themed or something like that… but it’s Angie’s decision of course

- pink.lioness on May 31st, 2007

*begin sarcasm* Wow, Jolie and Pitt are such wonderful parents for decorating their childrens bedroom! *end sarcasm*

I wonder if they have their two nannies teaching the children about their culture?

- Joey on May 31st, 2007

Lucee, all their children are American. Mad was born in Cambodia but his parents are American and he lives in the US. The same with the rest of the children. Shiloh was born in Namibia, her parents are America and she lives in the US. What’s the difference?

Just because Shiloh is their biological daughter isn’t any different from her siblings. They were all born in a different country and went to the US at a VERY young age (except for Pax, but he was only a toddler so still quite young)

So I think Shiloh should get a Namibian style bedroom because in my opinion she is as much Namibian as Zahara is Ethiopian.

I also think it’s a wonderful idea! Very creative!

- Mariabella on May 31st, 2007

Zahara IS Ethiopian her parents ARE Ethiopian. Therefor she is Ethiopian, and she was born there as well.
Shiloh is not Namibian she was just born there.
Personally I think Angelina Jolie is confused. Just raise the kids woman. I doubt right now at this age they care where they came from. Maybe a bit later they will but it will just confuse them. And when they are teenagers the wont give a you know.
She is dividing the kids again. Just give them all pretty rooms with jungle wallpapers and you are done. Jeeez….

- Sophie on May 31st, 2007

Honestly, some people pick on the smallest things.
I may be wrong, but I believe it was Angelina who said she had Shiloh in Africa so she would have something in common with Zee.

If this is true, I hope Shiloh gets her own Namibian room. Some people will take an interest in the country they were born some won’t. It’s a choice. Who knows, maybe Shiloh will take an interest in Namibia.

We don’t need to worry about her exposure to her American culture. It will be all around her everytime she steps outside, turn on a tv, go to school, see her parents, grandparents, cousins…

- romie on May 31st, 2007

Sophie,
Zahara’s parents are Brad and Angelina.

- Rose on May 31st, 2007

Sophie, last time I checked Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie weren’t Ethiopian… Brad and Angelina ARE her parents.

Nationality: The status of belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization.

So, techinically Shiloh is Namibian.

- Mariabella on May 31st, 2007

If this was true, I don’t have a problem with it but..as it was printed as a rumor in the Mirror???? I have serious doubts as to the validity of this information.

Things are made up about this family ALL THE TIME.

- leni on May 31st, 2007

I think it is absurd.

Their culture is the culture they are growing up with right now – NOT the country they were born in.

I think it is fine that Angie and Brad want each child to know something of their particular birth country – but this is just taking it to extremes – and, as one poster mentioned, it is divisive, too.

- mamalicious on May 31st, 2007

Rumor: Angelina and Brad want to give the kids a strong sense of their “own culture” while growing up in America, means for them the children are not american, for them the children have different culture,I believe they decided to have Shiloh in Namibia to do not make any differences between the others, giving my opinion about the decoration, I am in agree with Lucee, Shiloh do not have “african culture”, talking about “equal love” for blood and adopted children, I am in agree with Mariabella and I believe Sophie was talking about “biological parents” from Zee are from Ethiopia so Zee has “african culture” not Shiloh. Everybody have the right to decorate their children room like they want but Angie and Brad are talking about “cultural decorations” for the children and Shiloh born in Namibia, in spite she does not have Namibian “foregone”, she born there and she can get her Namibian decorations as a “reference” btu not to get a strong sense of her culture because I do not think she will live there.

- Oleska on May 31st, 2007

so many judgemental comments.. based on a rumor in a tabloid.

Thank God Angelina doesnt read the tabs. Too bad too many others do.

- aimee on May 31st, 2007

I could be wrong but, it seems there are a lot of rumors and tabloid stories posted here about Angelina and Brad’s family, and I dont recall seeing other rumors about other families posted.

Maybe I missed them.

Sarah’s note: If you click the ‘rumor’ category (listed at the bottom of the post), you can see all the posts there. There’s quite a few about other people, but for some reason it seems the Jolie-Pitts end up on the covers each week.

- loralie on May 31st, 2007

Lucee I agree with your post.

- Adriana on May 31st, 2007

for those who think that a Namibian scene would be culturally inappropriate for Shiloh’s room.. would Golden Arches or Disney characters be better? Cowboys and Indians? What would you put in an “American” theme room?

- millie on May 31st, 2007

millie, I’d like to know the same.

The opposition to this seems to be from those who think America’s culture is somehow superior than the ones the children were born in. How lame.

- sigh on May 31st, 2007

I say Disney characters are always a big hit with little kids.

- dolly on May 31st, 2007

My friends are expecting a baby this summer and are planning on decorating the baby’s room with an African Safari theme because the baby was conceived while they were vacationing in africa. Would that be inappropriate too?

Sheesh some of you are so critical and judgemental, for real. I think Angelina and Brad are raising their kids just fine without your inputs and disapprovals.

- ht on May 31st, 2007

Well personally, I think it is a wonderful idea. Ethnicity and nationality are such confusing topics- I’m sure many people don’t care that Shiloh was born in Namibia, she looks white and therefore people insist she cannot possibly be African. As others have said, Maddox and Zahara were brought to the United States when they were infants! How much more of a connection could they have to their countries than Shiloh has to hers!

If Brad and Angelina wish to consider Shiloh of Namibian nationality, people should respect that. And despite the color of your skin or who your parents are, being born in a place gives you a connection to it. Shiloh is a Namibian citizen and people should just shut up and realize that.

- Shanna on May 31st, 2007

Umm Rose and Mariabella, I think we all get that Zahara was ADOPTED from Ethiopia, therefore she wasn’t conceived by Brad and Angelina, so weren’t her previous “parents” Ethopian?

Unless you want to deny that and say she’s biologically their kid.

If the kids are gonna feel equal just give them all Disney rooms

- Natasha on May 31st, 2007

Oh please US culture is barely a few hundred years old. You can’t even start to compare it other ones.

““““““““““““““““““““
What would you put in an “American” theme room?
The opposition to this seems to be from those who think America’s culture is somehow superior than the ones the children were born in. How lame
““““““““““““““““““““`

- Sophie on May 31st, 2007

I think it’s a sweet idea. Why be so judgemental of how they decorate their kids rooms? They are a very international, jet-setting family. Maybe Disney characters aren’t for them.

- terri on May 31st, 2007

“She looks white and therefore people insist she can’t possibly be African”? I’m having a hard time understanding the logic in that statement — and I’m black. What would you call a white person who was born and raised in Africa and lived in Africa all his life? A “European”?

- Judy on May 31st, 2007

I cannot believe that even this completely innocent post about the Jolie-Pitts is getting negative comments. First of all, I want to say that I think this rumor is probably true, considering that Angie herself has said several times that she wants her kids to know the culture of the countries they were born in.
That said, I do not see anything wrong with giving the kids rooms that reflect the culture of the country they were born in (and the decision to do the rooms that way is, I’m sure, BOTH Angie and Brad’s decision, not just Angie’s). The fact of the matter is, Maddox, Zahara and Pax are biologically Cambodian, Ethiopian and Vietnamese respectively, because their biological parents were. Also, as a previous poster has said, Shiloh is techincally a Nambian citizen. It has been mentioned several times that, because she was born in Nambia, she has both Nambian and American citizenships.
Finally, I want to say that I was born in America, but whenever anybody asks me what Nationality I am, I never say American. This is because I am, in fact, largely German. Besides that, I am a mish-mash of other things, from Polish to Irish to possibly Czech. In fact, given my ancestry, it would actually be more acurate to say that I am European than American. The only way I am American is that I was born in America, and it is where I live.

- Annoynomus on May 31st, 2007

Oh, I also want to add that, even though I loved the Disney characters when I was a kid (heck, I still like some of them!), I wouldn’t have wanted them to be bedroom decor (and they weren’t). So who’s to say that Mad, Z, Pax and Shi do?

- Annoynomus on May 31st, 2007

I totally agree, Annoynomus. It’s about room decors, for god’s sake. somehow that became omg outrage on Angelina’s parenting? I also notice that the cynics automatically blame her and her alone. HELLO.

“Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have turned to”
“We hear: “Brad and Ange want to give”

I never thought I’d use The Mirror as the voice of reason.

- stephanie on June 1st, 2007

Sophie, then there is no other logical reason to oppose what Brad and Angie are doing. Not that thinking American culture is superior to others is logical, but it is more intellectually honest than some of the dumb, phony reasons being floated.

Annonynomous, I completely agree.

- sigh on June 1st, 2007

I am not sure how it works now but when my brother was born (in Germany) my parents had to regester him with the british embassy to declare him a british citizen. Otherwise he would have been called up for national service for a country that technically wasnt his. I am sure the same must apply for Shiloh. Otherwise she would be accountable for the laws and regulations for Nambia. Could be wrong but I am sure that Angie and brad would have investigated this first.

- madge78 on June 1st, 2007

Great for these kids, only it’s a pity they won’t be able to enjoy it very much, since they’re traveling all the time.

Did anyone else wonder how unpleasant it must be for those kids to change school every few months, to hop on planes all the time, etc…?

- LIZZY on June 1st, 2007

no, lizzy – I’m sure their lives would be much more pleasant if they had been left in their orphanages. Some people are so judgemental. These parents are absolutely amazing. i only wish there were more people like them. My son’s playroom is designed to look as if it was several different “countries” – think Epcot – and we LOVE it! (No characters allowed in our house!) Different people – different tastes. Leave them alone. What lucky children.

- brannon on June 1st, 2007

In a word, no. My parents took me and my brothers travel a lot when we were kids (not in the same scale as the Jolie-Pitts, of course) For the most part I love it. Sometimes I did just want to stay home and not miss an episode of whatever, but looking back, especially now that we’re older and don’t travel as much, I’m really grateful for that, it was a really great thing for us kids to experience. Those kids are lucky. Not just in the financial sense, any kids who get to travel is lucky, they get to see the world. What’s so wrong with that?

- stephanie on June 1st, 2007

I totally concur with Anonymous.

I’ve always said this: Certain individuals are inevitably going to find something wrong with whatever this family does. No matter how much love they have for their children, there are people who are always going to tear them down. In another thred, someone posted that Ange was being hateful when she called Z a smartass. In another thread, some other poster thought that Ange carrying her children is somehow a detriment to them.

- ht on June 2nd, 2007

The usual unsubstantiated rubbish from the Mirror. No source, and it’s so vague it’s blatantly not true!

- Jo on June 4th, 2007