The 'A Million Ways to Die in the West' actress says avoiding internet helps her cope with the pressure of living in the spotlight which, according to her, felt like a rape.
- May 31, 2014
AceShowbiz - Charlize Theron landed in hot water for comparing a life under media microscope to sexual abuse. A fan tweeted, "#CharlizeTheron your timing is shocking given the brutal rape and murders in India. Get real!" Another wrote, "I do think #CharlizeTheron comments are tasteless and shallow! She needs to #getagrip."
The "A Million Ways to Die in the West" actress made the controversial statement during a new interview with Sky News. When asked if she googled herself, she said, "I don't do that, so that's my saving grace. I think it's when you start living in that world, and doing that, that you start, I guess, feeling raped."
She nodded when asked if she really felt that strongly about the issue. "Well, when it comes to your son and your private life. Maybe that's just me," the mother of one explained. "Some people might relish in 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."
So, how did she cope with the prying press? "I don't always win that war, but as long as I don't have to see that stuff or read that stuff or hear that stuff then I can live with my head in a clear space, which is probably a lot healthier than living in that dark room," she said.
Theron's remarks came after Gwyneth Paltrow was criticized for her comments in which she likened internet trolls to war. "Dear Charlize Theron and Gwyneth Paltrow, stop comparing fame to traumatic experiences [like] rape and war. It's incredibly ignorant and offensive," a Twitter user blasted the two actresses.
Katie Russell from Rape Crisis England and Wales told 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 trivialises the experience of sexual violence."
"The experience is devastating, as we have come to learn working with women who have been through it, and the impact can be life-long or very long term. Press intrusion is a very difficult experience but it is not appropriate to compare it to sexual violence."
In the past, Tom Cruise faced backlash for allegedly suggesting that being away from home to work on a movie set felt like being shipped off to war, a rumor that he vehemently denied. Kristen Stewart also once came under fire for saying that looking at paparazzi pictures of herself was like seeing someone being raped, a statement which she later apologized.
