Angelina Jolie gives much to charity, sounds off on fidelity

Angelina Jolie opened her arms wide this holiday season and gave, gave, gave -- her thoughts on fidelity and marriage, that is. She also wrote a big check for an important cause.

Jolie, partner of a very bearded Brad Pitt, told German publication Das Neue that the ball-and-chain factor doesn't exist in their coupling.

"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship ... ," she said. "Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together."

Her home situation may be easy-breezy, but the actress knows when attention must be paid to others. She and Pitt recently donated $100,000 to Florida and Illinois locations of SOS Children's Villages, an organization  that provides kids as an alternative to foster care.

“We have seen first-hand the remarkable job SOS does to raise orphaned and abandoned children and keep families together,” Jolie said in a statement.

At the two locations in Illinois and one in Florida, about 275 children have a place to live and to learn.

“The poor outcomes for foster children indicate that we must do a much better job of supporting them,” Pitt chimed in.

Pitt was spotted tending his own flock Monday ...

... taking son Maddox to see James Cameron's "Avatar" at an AMC theater in New York, according to HollywoodLife.com. The father and son enjoyed video games in the lobby before heading in for the sci-fi epic. 

-- Matt Donnelly

Photo: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be unchained, but they certainly look happy here in December, at a UNICEF gala. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Related Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: Date night at UNICEF

Brangelina and Maddox hit the 'Invictus' premiere

Brad and Angelina light up MOCA's 30th anniversary

Brad Pitt donates $100,000 to fight Prop. 8

Want more about star couples? Fall in love with the Ministry of Gossip by following us on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs). And, as with any good potential love interest, we can be stalked on Facebook -- find us at facebook.com/ministryofgossip.

Comments

[Patrick]

Angelina is right. America does little to develop orphans and foster care children. The hidden failure of America from it's poor past of boys town's to no towns for orphans or foster children is a part of our present, as well.

Angelina's fidelity understanding may be an issue, but her heart is certainly in the right place when it comes to children!

Patrick

[justme]

Sounds like Angelina is setting herself up to have permission to seduce Johnny Depp in her next movie. They seem to be better suited then her and Brad. Best wishes Vanessa ;/

[ahmad berjawi]

we like each other,we are one body and the destiny divides us into two species i do not know angie we have same characters

[helen sudul]

Angelina makes the rest of the celebrities look like Scourge. Ihave
yet to see Racheal Ray or Martha Stewart making any conributions intead
they rob the poor with thier expensive books and houseware products.
Angie's personal life has not affected thier great love for children Unlike
the couple who had the 19 children instead adopting a few and giving them
some badly needed love, MY hats off to Angelina for her big heart.

[Critical reader]

While they do give to charity, which is a good thing, they never fail to announce their contributions. There are ways they can bring attention to causes they deem worthwhile without mentioning that they gave x amount of dollars to it. At the very least they can just say, this is a cause we believe in and support, and we encourage others to research it and if they agree, make a contribution. Unfortunately their self promotion sounds a sour note to me and smacks of self promotion. I can't help but think they are trying to buy approval for their unconventional lifestyle.

On the fidelity issue, if she thinks fidelity is not important in a relationship then why did she publicly condemn her father for his infidelity instead of chiding her mother for her lack of understanding and "sophistication" and why did she use her disdain for what her father did as proof that she wouldn't do the same?

I don't think many people are fooled by her.

[Q. Macphail]

always nice to be lectured on fidelity by a celebrity who commited adultery...

[xp]

Well let's remember that she had a female lover and as great as Brad is, he doesn't have female plumbing, so I think her comment was protecting her in case she wanted to go back to her pre-relationship ways, should she find some cute gal along the way.

[winnie]

I don't get it, why does her donation have to become public, I thought these kinds of things are supposed to be done without fanfare. Why not just keep these things to herself. No matter who on there team let the word out about their donation, it should be kept quiet, this is the way of giving, not so the whole world will know how rich they are. She is not a good role model, lets out how much she donates, doesn't matter who said it, still it came out and she says not being faithful to partner is Ok. How can people stomach that.

[Susan Hayfield]

Celebrities should keep their contributions anonymous and quiet like most good Americans. Most celebrities only give donations only to get publicity. If Angelina / Brad are worth an estimate $ 1 billion, then a $ 100,000 check is like giving a $ 100 (or less) check to charity. What's all the fuss about that?

If celebrities want fame and name their favorite charity, they should give in the hundreds of millions, like Warren Buffet.

In the meantime, I prefer to keep my meager checks anonymous and not tell everyone in the world including the media where and when I give anyone a dime.

Susan Hayfield
Bridgeport, CT

[Not Impressed]

It makes me sad that the world looks up to women like her. Contrary to popular/ignorant belief, she's not the only one who helps other people out. Her giving a couple thousand or even 1 million (while I'm sure the organization is appreciative) is like me giving 5 bucks. Certainly nice, but not something to set me apart from every other mortal on the planet. And I'm going to have to agree with most of the posters here: Why do they sing out their own praise? There are others who quietly give ten times more than these two, but we never hear about it. What about the people who give up months of their time to go and help out, all without publicly announcing it? I have an uncle who's a doctor; he spends 3-4 months out of every year going and working for free in a third-world country. I only knew this because he asked my husband, who's a nurse, if he'd consider coming along. For every cent that these tabloid stars donate, they receive something greater in return. It's disgusting. All of that aside, her and Pitt's relationship was built on a foundation of lies, and for once, they should try to get their stories straight concerning their fidelity, morals or lack thereof. Good thing popularity is a flash in the pan for hollywood.