Angelina Jolie has grown close to British rapper and political activist Akala in the wake of her bitter split from Brad Pitt. 

The actress, 49, sparked romance rumours with Akala, 40, when the pair were seen emerging from her hotel in Italy on Wednesday during Venice International Film Festival.

However, sources confirmed that the couple are not an item, with an insider telling People that Jolie ‘is friends with him and his partner, Chanelle [Newman] who was also there’.

Yet the pair do share a strong bond, with a second source stating: ‘They share the same passion when it comes to social and humanitarian causes.

‘They did several collabs over the years that focus on global issues like human rights. Angie speaks very highly of him.’

It had been claimed by In Touch that the actress had been privately seeing the musician for ‘more than a year’.

However, People’s source claimed Jolie is ‘currently single and not dating seriously’.

MailOnline has contacted Jolie’s representatives for comment.

The since debunked romance rumours first began when Akala joined Jolie and her daughters Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18, at the Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica in May of last year.

An eyewitness shared at the time that Akala was ‘very protective of them as he shepherded them around’.

They enjoyed dinner together in Milan six months later, In Touch also claimed.

In addition to Zahara and Shiloh, Jolie and her ex-husband Pitt share sons Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, and 15-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

Jolie has hinted at the heavy emotional toll which her divorce from Pitt has taken on her, saying she has been through ‘despair’ and ‘pain.’

The beauty split from her film star husband after a disputed incident on a plane in 2016.

She has said in court documents that he assaulted her and some of their six children and poured wine and beer on the family in a rage. He has always denied being violent towards her or the family.

Akala  – born Kingslee James McLean Daley – started out as a rapper before moving into political activism, endorsing former Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election.

His older sister is also the famous singer and rapper Ms. Dynamite.

Ms. Dynamite, 43 – real name Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley – enjoyed a string of hits in the early 2000s with her debut album A Little Deeper, which won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize.

Akala is currently in a relationship with Chanelle Newman who is co-founder and executive producer of Akala’s music and the Hip-hop Shakespeare Company.

In Touch also claimed that the Maleficent star has been seeing another man, Broadway composer Justin Levine.

‘Angelina has been seeing two different men over the past year or so,’ a source claimed to the outlet.

Tony-award winner Levine was a part of the Broadway production of The Outsiders, the musical Jolie produced.

In Touch reports he co-wrote the book and score for the play. Jolie’s daughter Vivienne also worked as a producer’s assistant on the program.

‘Angie just adores Justin, and they’ve been spending so much time together that a lot of people think the relationship could turn romantic,’ the source said.

An insider also shared with the site that the men are ‘totally different’ but Jolie is ‘falling for both of them.’

The new romance rumors comes five years after Jolie was declared legally single from Pitt.

Akala and Justin are not the first two men Jolie has been linked to since her divorce. Several years ago, she was seen out with musician The Weekend.

Jolie and Pitt’s split has played out publicly and has also affected their six children. Earlier this month their daughter Shiloh, 18, legally dropped her father’s surname.

Shiloh, who hired and paid for her own lawyer when she filed to drop the Pitt name on her 18th birthday in May, filed to change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie.

There have been long custody battles which ended eventually in a victory for Pitt, who got 50-50 custody in 2021 only to have it overturned on appeal.

The current situation has seen the children form a tight group of seven with his former wife.

This comes amid recent claims that Pitt and Jolie’s divorce – which has now dragged on for eight years – is still ongoing as neither of the stars can ‘let it go.’

A source told People ‘their disagreements took over’ in the relationship, adding that things ‘turned nasty and it was not a good situation for anyone.’

‘All the bitterness is partly why the divorce has dragged on for so many years. Neither will let it go. You’d think they would be over it and just settle.’

Another source of recent stress for the actress has been her son Pax’s terrifying bike crash, which left him hospitalized.

Pax was released from ICU earlier this month, after being treated for crashing his electric bike into the back of a car stopped for a red light on Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Angeles on July 29.

He now begins the long road of recovery and physical therapy – and Angelina has been there every step of the way.

Meanwhile Pitt reportedly feels completely helpless his son is still refusing to have any contact with him as he recovers.

According to sources, Pax ‘doesn’t want any well wishes’ from his ‘distraught dad’ Brad even though the ‘heartbroken’ Hollywood actor is determined to help out in any way possible.

An insider exclusively told DailyMail.com that Pitt also wishes his family dynamic wasn’t divided and that he wasn’t getting ‘radio silence’ about his son’s health.