Angelina Jolie's latest interview sparked criticisms of child abuse. The actress revealed some details about how she found the children who would star in her Netflix movie "First They Killed My Father" and the public accused her of traumatizing the kids.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Angelina Jolie detailed that she went to "orphanages, circuses, and slum schools" to find her stars. The actress and director also revealed that during the auditions, she would leave money in front of the children, who come from poor families and then intentionally catch them stealing these.
Some of the kids came up with lies after being cornered and caught. The Hollywood superstar, however, said the girl she ultimately picked to lead her movie, Srey Moch, was the only one who looked at the money on the table "for a very, very long time."
“When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion," Angelina Jolie told the magazine. "All these different things came flooding back," she said, adding that Srey Moch cried because she remembered having no money for the burial of her grandfather.
Calling out the child abuse
But the actress’ account of the audition process only angered the public. British TV personality Piers Morgan called out Angelina Jolie's tactics as appalling in his Twitter @piersmorgan.
"Jolie really played a psychological game w/ impoverished kids instead of, you know, just having them audition like a normal person," another Twitter netizen @spikejonzes also said.
"Jolie cast her latest movie by taunting poor children with cash," New York Magazine news editor Jessica Roy also posted via @JessicaKRoy.
Traumatizing for the locals
According to another report via Mirror, filming "First They Killed My Father" in a Cambodian village brought back bad memories for the locals. Some of the residents were allegedly not aware that the soldiers on the set were actors. A psychologist was also hired to be present on the set as some of the locals had nightmares.
Angelina Jolie or her representatives have not yet responded to these accusations.
“First They Killed My Father” is based on a book which detailed the account of the actress' friend Loung Ung’s experience as a child under Khmer Rogue rule in the ‘70s. The Khmer Rouge killed over two million Cambodians during their abusive regime.
The movie has been streaming on Netflix since February this year and the actress has been showcasing her work in select movie festivals.
