Charlize Theron Faces Backlash After Comparing Press Intrusion To Rape; Twitter Users React To Controversial Comment

Charlize Theron faced a storm of criticism after making controversial comments during a recent interview with Sky News, where she compared press intrusion of her personal life to rape.

The South African-born actress made the comparison after reporter Richard Suchet told her about some of the headlines simply by entering her name in Google search.

"I don't do [Google myself] that so that's my saving grace," the 38-year-old actress reportedly said. "I think it's when you start living in that world and doing that, you start, I guess, feeling raped."

"Well, when it comes to your son and your private life. Maybe that's just me," the mother of one reportedly said when asked if she really felt that strongly about the issue. "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."

She spoke about coping with the press by saying: “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.”

"I can't be concerned about what some idiot is going to write online about my short skirt or something like that," she reportedly said. "Yes, to fly first-class to London, to be able to do that with my son and my family, I am definitely not jaded about any of that stuff. But it doesn't mean that every aspect of my life all of a sudden becomes fodder for an article."

Theron’s remarks came after Gwyneth Paltrow was criticized for her comments in which she compared 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 wrote.

Theron is not the first celebrity to compare media intrusions to rape.

In 2010, Kristen Stewart, the “Twilight” actress, reportedly told Elle magazine that seeing paparazzi photos of herself felt like "looking at someone being raped," while actor Johnny Depp made a similar comment to Vanity Fair in 2011 saying that photo shoots made him feel like he was "being raped somehow." Both the actors had reportedly apologized after making these comments.

Here are some of the tweets from social media users who criticized Theron’s comments: