Is Angelina Jolie Guilty of Child Abuse?
Actress, director, and philanthropist Angelina Jolie has come under fire recently due to child abuse accusations during the casting of First They Killed My Father, her upcoming film about the Cambodian genocide.
© Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Accusations
The claims of child abuse stem from a Vanity Fair piece published in June 2017 by Evgenia Peretz. In the search for child actors for the film, Peretz argues that Jolie had children from Canbodian orphanages and slums play a "disturbing" game.
She writes that Jolie "put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away,” Peretz wrote. “The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie” — a game that critics have slammed for being exploitative and inhumane.
In Jolie's Defense
Jolie has fought back against the criticisms of her work. She wrote a statement in the Huffington Post where she explained that Vanity Fair's description of the audition scene was taken out of context. In no way was it a cruel psychological game meant to toy with the children's emotions. Rather, it was an improvisational exercise in which the children were aware the entire time that it was just acting.
Furthermore, children from all kinds of backgrounds were considered for the movie. Their parents, doctors, and NGO workers were all present to ensure their safety throughout the casting process.
The Verdict?
We can't imagine that Angelina Jolie, a woman who has such an intimate relationship with Cambodia, would treat an issue like this with insensitivity. That's why we side with Angelina and look forward to watching all her upcoming works.
First They Killed My Father comes out on September 15.
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