Zut Alors! Monsieur Maddox Jolie-Pitt Begins Kindergarten, And Lycée Parents Lose It
MORE The Transom
It seems the entire Upper East Side is aware that Maddox, the adopted son of Hollywood golden couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has begun school at the Lycée Français de New York on East 75th Street.
Classes began on Sept. 4, and the school is still adjusting to the chaos that ensues whenever Mr. Pitt or Ms. Jolie drops off or picks up their 5-year-old.
The Lycee’s director of operations, Dan Cooke, is confronting the matter head-on. On Sept. 14, he dispatched a letter to parents.
“I’m sure you are aware the school has received much media attention recently during the arrival and dismissal times because of the presence of celebrities Ms. Angelina Jolie and/or Mr. Brad Pitt,” read the document, according to a source who shared it with the Transom over the phone. “I want to make you aware that before the first day of school I met with their security team to discuss the best manner in which for them to drop off and pick up their son. Our foremost goal was to cause the least amount of disruption to the school and to ensure the security of all of our students and families.”
The letter went on to explain that the Jolie-Pitt family had agreed to “stagger” the arrival and pickup times of young Maddox, in order to disrupt as few students and parents as possible.
Then it addressed some troublemakers.
“Regretfully, I have seen some parents taking pictures, asking for autographs, talking to the media and even shouting at Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt for recognition,” the source quoted with some glee. “Therefore, in the best interests of the school and safety of your child(ren) I must ask for everyone to please respect the family’s privacy and discontinue these practices.” (“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment,” Mr. Cooke told the Transom.)
“The French are quite civilized,” commented the source, who has a sibling at the school. “But sure, you have the moms who get there a little earlier to get a little glimpse.” She further noted that Ms. Jolie has earned a gold star from some parents by personally apologizing for the flashbulb-popping pandemonium that she has brought to the school.
A rep for the couple didn’t return calls, but all that relentless picture-taking has apparently also had an effect on little Maddox. Kindergartners were recently asked to bring in a picture of themselves. “He was terrified,” the source reported. “He refused. He started crying. Obviously the poor kid has grown up in fear of having his picture taken.” Extreme camera-shyness aside, Maddox is doing just fine. “He’s been quite happy,” said the source. “He’s always smiling.” Though so far, she said, “his French is pretty minimal.” Miaou!
How disingenuine and ironic that your paper would write this story noting apparrent concern for the celebrity child and then post pictures of the poor kid. You have no principles. good luck.
Thank god you're around to google celebrity names and then chastise people for writing about them and running pictures of them! (@Doron ... rhymes with ...)
"The French are quite civilized"
yeah, no paparazzi in France, no mayhem when Brangelina are in Paris...
huhwhat (not verified) says:
"The French are quite civilized"
yeah, no paparazzi in France, no mayhem when Brangelina are in Paris
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm assuming this is sarcasm, since Princess Dianna DIED in France because of the paps.
Actually French paparazzi are quite civilized...they keep a distance as opposed to British or American snappers. And the French are known for being unconcerned with celebrity but these Lycee schools are mostly American kids and American families who want their kids to speak French. So it's really not the same at all...
Why learn french in NYC? @_@
PS I agree with the other post. Apparently reporting about the invasion of privacy is a ticket to invade the privacy. Media garbage.
Why learn french in NYC? @_@
PS I agree with the other post. Apparently reporting about the invasion of privacy is a ticket to invade the privacy. Media garbage.
Well, this is ridiculous. No one has concern for these children. It's not their fault they have been born, or in this case graciously adopted in celebrity families. It shows how indecent American's are. We just need to leave them all alone. I understand that it would be a hard thing to do...but common sense tells you to cease especially in an education environment...COME ON!!
Why learn French in NYC? Perhaps because Angelina's mom was French, and she speaks it fluently and they vacation there a lot. Or perhaps because you were adopted from Cambodia, a former French colony where French is widely spoken by the educated, and your folks would like you to be able to communicate there?
Enough already! Why does the Observer have it out for the Lycee Francais? This is just one of many articles where the paper has tried to malign the school. My daughter has been a student there for six years and is receiving a wonderful education. As for the whole Jolie/Pitt thing -- believe me, after the initial excitement, the kids could care less. I'm sure the parents even less so at this point. WIth the circus outside who can even tell if it's parents or the crazed paparazzi who are yelling their names.
Disingenuine,
1. I didn't google a celibrity, I read an article on a news site.
2. There's a difference between propogating nonsense for money, and consuming nonsense out of procrastination.
3. While I may be hypocritical, my name isn't pronounced the way you're imagining.
4. It's no defense of one wrong act to simply point the finger at others.
5. kids should be left out of the limelight, until they're old enough to choose it themselves, and adults should try to be more responsible.
I have to agree with Fed Up. The Observer has it out on the Lycée. I attended the Lycee for 5 years. I received better education than I would have had in most private schools and got into a great college.
What surprises me the most is that many celebrities have enrolled their kids over the years and didn´t get this kind of media coverage.
Props to the school´s security team.
Or because it's a beautiful language and a second foreign language for many people in the world after English and we Americans live in the world, too?
Although there's nothing wrong with learning French, the suggestion that it should be taught to an American child as a FIRST LANGUAGE is risibly absurd.
This is just the kind of quixotic crap that appeals to hollow-headed Hollywood types and socially aspirant UES dilettantes who see the school as a means of separating their coddled kids from the rest of the trash.
Her mother was not French at all. She was from Chicago. And Angelina Jolie does not speak French worth a damn. Her few lines of garbled French in an atrocious accent, even after intensive language training, in her movites should be enough dispel that rumor. Hell - she barely speaks English!!! It must be Jolie herself who perpetuates the myth of her apocryphal French heritage and language skills. She's good at manipulating people into believing all manner of flattering lies about her.
wow, Clarity! Bitter much?
actually clarity, angie has said many times that her mother was not french, and was born in chicago. the media is what persists in reporting otherwise if you want to berate her, at least get your facts right. she obviously speaks english well enough to be addressing the CGI. i hope you know what that means seeing you are so well versed and all.
Calm down there, Clarity Aniston.
Really the issue is....what would Bill O'Reilly think of all of these rich white folks acting so uncouth!
correction: "the media is who"
"Media" is a plural noun. It takes "are."
man. poor kid, he's even scared of people taking pictures of him. seriously...this is not cool.
thank you still wrong, i missed that.
Did I miss something? Where in the article did the Observer say that it deplored the publicity the child was getting? News is news, and if you snooze or refuse (to run it), you lose.
What a crock of shit. If there's blame to be laid for this distraction, drop it at the feet of Brad and Angelina, not the other parents. These people claim to resent this kind of media attention, yet they BOTH decide to show up and walk the kid into the school. Not one. Both. Doubtless, any of their "help" could have driven the kid to school and walked him in with little fanfare. With a nanny at his side and ball cap on, the kid would have been unrecognizable.
But no.
Why?
Because, contrary to their outward manifestations, they lOVE the attention and are willing to prostitute this kid in order to get it.
Gross.
I don't agree with you at all Jim and you obviously don't have children. Walking them into their first days of Big School is a Big Deal and not something I would turn over to a nanny for any reason. The child also deserves to have his parents see his classroom, meet his teacher and other students rather than be the one whose nanny is present for these first big events in the child's life.
So why should the Jolie-Pitts be deprived simply because the media has to constantly behave like slavering dogs after the money shot? If you think the J-P's adore this kind of attention to their FAMILY you're deluded. To their career, yes, to their movies, yes, they sure want their movies noticed. But they resent being dogged in their private life just as all celebrities do. There should be laws made to protect them from this kind of rabid abuse.
...it's not that surprising to me at all....to begin with, these are people who live global lives. As an American living internationally, I cannot stress enough how important it is to be multi-lingual when you work and live in countries across the world, as obviously the Jolie-Pitts do. And rest assured, in a multi-dimensional educational environment like this, these children would also be learning English...I cannot understand for the life of me why there is such a knee-jerk reaction to children in private schools with parents of sufficient means learning different languages... seems a bit ignorant and not very knowledgable about the rest of the world to me....
Why is it necessary to use "adopted son" to describe Maddox? He is their son. It's just as legally and emotionally binding as a biological child's connection. Most of us who grew up as adoptees know how solid family can be regardless of blood-line connections.
And c'mon folks! Be cool.
Um, what??
Ask Princess Diana about the "civilized" French paparazzi. Oh wait, she's dead. Never mind!
Jaxon (not verified) said:
"I don't agree with you at all Jim and you obviously don't have children. Walking them into their first days of Big School is a Big Deal and not something I would turn over to a nanny for any reason."
That's fine. But if it's not something you would miss for ANY REASON, then don't complain about the media attention.
"So why should the Jolie-Pitts be deprived simply because the media has to constantly behave like slavering dogs after the money shot?"
I'm not saying that they ought to be deprived of it. I'm saying that if they're intent upon doing it, they shouldn't complain about the media attention. They can't have it both ways, and they ought to know it.
"If you think the J-P's adore this kind of attention to their FAMILY you're deluded. To their career, yes, to their movies, yes, they sure want their movies noticed. But they resent being dogged in their private life just as all celebrities do. "
Don't you appreciate that their private and professional lives are inextricably linked? Second, as to the notion that celebrities "resent" the media attention, it's plainly untrue. Hilariously, many celebrities direct their agents and PR people to CALL the paparazzi and inform them of their whereabouts so that they can drum up some media buzz.
Look, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, neither of whom has a college degree, decided that they wanted to earn $20M a year for six months of work by entering the most public of all professions, they signed on for this.
I thought they were moving to NOLA's French Quarter. Or was it Berlin? Or France?
But, alas, it's the Upper East Side, as we all kind of expected anyway...
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