Angelina Jolie blasts ‘false and upsetting’ claims that she tempted Cambodian children with money

Jolie said the casting game was a scene in the film which has been written about as if it was real 
Defending herself: Angelina Jolie has hit back at claims
Samrang Pring/Reuters
Emma Powell31 July 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Angelina Jolie has refuted “false” claims that she played tricks on impoverished children to cast them in her upcoming film, saying it was a “pretend exercise in an improvisation.”

She said she was looking to find a child who had experienced real hardship to star as the young Loung Ung in First They Killed My Father.

Speaking to Variety she said: “Srey Moch [the girl ultimately chosen for the part] was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time.

Special envoy: Angelina Jolie talks to children during a visit to a Syrian refugee camp in Azraq in northern Jordan (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty)
AFP/Getty Images

“When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back.”

The actress and UN special envoy was branded “cruel” and the game “traumatising”.

But Jolie has said her words were misinterpreted and that claims she snatched money back from the children were “false and upsetting”.

In a statement she said: “I am upset that a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual scene in the film, has been written about as if it was a real scenario. The suggestion that real money was taken from a child during an audition is false and upsetting. I would be outraged myself if this had happened.

“The point of this film is to bring attention to the horrors children face in war, and to help fight to protect them.”

Jolie, who will direct the biographical film which focuses on Ung’s childhood under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, insisted that “no one was in any way hurt”.

She continued: “Every measure was taken to ensure the safety, comfort and well-being of the children on the film starting from the auditions through production to the present.

“Parents, guardians, partner NGOs whose job it is to care for children, and medical doctors were always on hand everyday, to ensure everyone had all they needed. And above all to make sure that no one was in any way hurt by participating in the recreation of such a painful part of their country’s history.”

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt - In pictures

1/27

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT