Angelina Jolie responds to criticism over "exploitative" audition process for young children in new film

The actress released a statement after the backlash

Angelina Jolie     has denied that she set up a controversial casting process for her upcoming movie:
First They Killed My Father.

According to the excerpt in vanity fair. the Hollywood actress and her casting associates placed money and a table and allowed the children auditioning for the Cambodian film to take it.


However, after taking the money, the director the "caught" the 
kids, and forced them to explain why they needed the cash. Srey Moke was ultimately chosen for the part.


"Moke was the only child that stared at the money for a very, 
very long time," the actress is quoted as saying. "When she was forced to give it back, she become overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back. When she was asked later what that money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they did't have enough money for a nice funeral." 

She now says that the process described in the profile was misconstrued, and was "a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual scene in the film."

In a statement to Variety on Sunday, Angelina noted that she was "upset" by the allegations.

"The suggestion that real money was taken from a child during an audition is false and upsetting," she wrote. "I would be outraged myself if this had happened."

First They Killed My Father is based on the 2000 book by Loung Ung. The story is a personal retelling of Ung's survival of the Pol Pot regime. The film will be released on Netflix inSeptember.

The full statement from Angelina read: "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.