Charlize Theron: Press Intrusion 'Like Rape'

Charlize Theron says press coverage of her private life is so intrusive that it is comparable to rape.

The South African-born actress told Sky News that "every aspect" of her life has become "fodder" for a brand of journalism that exists "in a dark room".

She said: "I don't (Google myself) - that's my saving grace.

"When you start living in that world, and doing that, you start feeling raped."

Asked whether she meant to express the sentiment as strongly as that, she replied: "Well, when it comes to your son and your private life. Maybe it's just me.

"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.

"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."

She is not the first person to draw parallels between media intrusion and rape.

In 2010 the actress Kristen Stewart was forced to issue an apology after claiming that seeing photographs of herself was like "looking at someone being raped".

Kate McCann, the mother of missing child Madeleine McCann, told the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics that she felt "mentally raped" when a tabloid newspaper published her private diary, in which she expressed her thoughts and feelings about the disappearance of her daughter.

Theron, who won an Oscar for her role in 2003 movie Monster, is in London to promote her new film A Million Ways To Die In The West, in which she stars opposite Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.

On the morning of our interview, she was pictured in the British press with her young son and partner Sean Penn.

The photographs showed them leaving Claridge's hotel in a taxi the night before.

She said: "I can't be concerned about what some idiot is going to write online about my short skirt, I can only take responsibility for myself.

"There is a part of my job that is incredibly lovely - to fly first class to London, to be able to do that with my son and my family and I am definitely not jaded by any of that.

"My job has made my life incredibly blessed and good and I am very grateful for that, but it does not mean that every aspect of my life all of a sudden becomes fodder for an article.

"I try to protect against that as much as I can."

Showbiz journalist Sophie Heawood said: "Charlize Theron has actually done some rape campaigning so I'm sure she's very aware of what she said.

"I imagine she's talking about a very different kind of violation obviously and it might be hard for us to sympathise because it seems like a very gilded celebrity life.

"But when it's constant every single day, every time you leave the house, every time anybody mentions you in public, any time your child gets in a car. That does feel very violating."

A Million Ways To Die In The West opens in UK cinemas today.

The raunchy comedy Western also stars Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried and Sarah Silverman.