Angelina Jolie’s Brother James Haven Reveals Dad Jon Voight’s Surprising Reaction to Him Coming Out

James Haven has had a complicated relationship with his father, Jon Voight, for years. So when Haven shared one of the most personal truths about himself, he had no idea how the Oscar winner would react.

Haven publicly came out as gay on August 6 during a livestream with his ex-wife Romi Imbelli, saying coming out “isn’t about becoming someone new” but “allowing everyone else to meet the person who has been here all along.”

Six days later, Haven, 53, discussed Voight’s response to his coming out on the Wednesday, August 12 episode of the All Out With Jon Dean podcast, revealing new details about how the Oscar winner reacted once he learned the truth about his son.

He said that after Voight, 87, phoned him, he waited about 15 minutes before returning the call. “I finally pick up the phone after 15 minutes of him trying to call me, and I’m just like, ‘Hey,'” Haven recalled on the podcast. “And he’s like, ‘So…’ I’m like, ‘Ah, here we go.'” What came next surprised him: “He goes, ‘So, I finally know who you are.'”

“And all of a sudden we had this really nice chat and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,'” Haven continued.

Haven explained that for years, Voight appeared puzzled by his son’s more expressive side without ever naming the reason why. That confusion seemed to lift instantly once he understood the full picture. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” Haven said. “He kept talking about it, like, ‘Now I understand why you’ve been so private.'” Haven added that Voight also told him he could finally “understand” his son’s “entire behavior.”

Imbelli, 44, who joined him on the podcast, encouraged the conversation. She recalled telling Haven, “Your dad is getting older. Do you really want to live your entire life where he doesn’t know who you are? And like I don’t want your dad to go and for your entire existence of him here you never got to show him the man that you are.”

The moment followed years of distance between father and son. Haven confirmed the two “didn’t talk for six years.”

“My upbringing was very difficult, and we’ve come a long way,” he said, adding that he plans to reunite with Voight in Los Angeles in the coming days.

As Haven looks ahead to seeing his father, there’s another family conversation he’s still waiting to have. “I’ve not officially talked to her since I’ve done all this,” he said about sister Angelina Jolie on the podcast. Still, he suspects she already has a sense of where things stand. “I think she’s always wondered without saying anything…so I’m sure she’s very proud of me and I look forward to seeing what she has to say in person,” he added.