Daily Mail: Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron has outraged her fans after comparing press intrusion to rape.
The star, who is in the UK to promote her new film A Million Ways to Die In The West (which promotes gun violence, yet she’s a gun control advocate), made the controversial comments when she was asked by Sky News if she ever googled herself.
Her remarks come just days after Gwyneth Paltrow was criticized for telling a conference in Los Angeles that receiving online abuse was similar to what soldiers go through during war.
Theron’s remarks have prompted a huge backlash on social media, while one charity who campaign on behalf of sexual violence victims have accused her of “trivializing rape”.
During the interview, the 38-year-old said: “I don’t do that, so that’s my saving grace. When you start living in that world, and doing that, you start I guess feeling raped.”
Asked by the interviewer if she felt that strongly about the issue, she said: “Well, you know when it comes to your son and your private life. Maybe that’s just me.”
“Some people might relish all that stuff but there are certain things in my life that I think of as very sacred and I am very protective over them.”
One Twitter user said: “She should try telling that to a real rape victim”. Another said: “How stupid to comment about press intrusion the same as being raped. Make my blood boil!!”
Someone else added; “So Charlize compared press intrusion to rape whilst giving an interview to a member of the pressl…she’s a hypocrite and disgusting.”
Katie Russell from Rape Crisis England and Wales to Mail Online: “To us, it is always disappointing when someone high profile uses that language and turns sexual violence into a metaphor for something else. It is never appropriate and it trivializes the experience of sexual violence.”
“Press intrusion is a very difficult experience but it is not appropriate to compare it to sexual violence.”
“It’s particularly disappointing in this case because Theron has campaigned against sexual violence before. She doesn’t really have an excuse and it will upset people who have survived attacks.”
In 1999, the actress appeared in an advert in South Africa where she outlined the country’s shocking rape statistics.
This is what happens when you go off script. Maybe if she doesn’t want press, she should stay out of the public eye? With $110 million, it’s not like she needs the money for doing movies.
DCG