Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie sued by French interior designer

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are being sued by a French interior designer who claims they stiffed him for a lighting project she did in their sprawling mansion and failed to credit her for the work. 

The woman, Odile Soudant, told French newspaper Libération that the former duo hired her to light four buildings on their Chateau Miraval in Correns, France, including the 40-room chateau.

"He [Pitt] wanted to make it an exceptional place and believed that light should be at the heart of this," she told Libération, via the Guardian.

Odile admits she never had a signed contract for the work but was given "carte blanche" to put her signature touch on the villa. She said she's in financial ruin ever since payment stopped. 

In April, the court ordered one of Brad and Angie's companies to pay Odile more than $662,000, including about $70,000 for damaging her reputation. The lawsuit was just made public. 

In the lawsuit, she said she, along with 17 employees, worked on the "BP project" for two years and was paid $29 million, but then payments stopped.

Still, she maintains, Brad continued emailing her despite the stoppage of payment.

"Odile, I need you. Come here please. I need you to finish," he wrote in emails presented to the court.

Ten days later, he wrote, "I don't know how things happen in France but in the United States, friends don't attack friends. I've been nothing but a fan of your work. Do not attack. Let's finish the project and be proud of it. The work is too good to end on a bad note. Life is too short, my friend."

Another followed that read, "Don't waste time with legal action. Follow your artistic journey and don't worry about the rest."

While she got a payout, Odile is fighting to be recognized as the creator of the lighting project.

"I am an artist and this is my work," she told The Guardian. "When someone tries to steal my work it is something else. This is all very painful for me."