“Twilight” actress Kristen Stewart has often been outspoken about her hatred of the spotlight shined on her personal life and rumored romance with costar Robert Pattinson.
But Stewart needs to know that there’s a big difference between being hounded by the media and being raped, according to rape victims’ advocates who were offended by remarks from Stewart in the July edition of British Elle magazine.
“It’s so… The photos are so… I feel like I’m looking at someone being raped. A lot of the time I can’t handle it,” the 20-year-old actress said when asked how she feels about being photographed by paparazzi. “I never expected that this would be my life.”
Stewart further explained that life as a celebrity can become a too intense at any given moment because the cameras can be plentiful and ruthless.
“What you don’t see are the cameras shoved in my face and the bizarre intrusive questions being asked, or the people falling over themselves, screaming and taunting to get a reaction,” she lamented.
Katherine Hull, a spokesperson on behalf of Rape and Incest National Network (R.A.I.N.N.) told FOXNews.com “Stewart’s comments are regrettable. Portraying a rape survivor in the film ‘Speak’ should have led her to use a more appropriate metaphor to describe the intrusive nature of the paparazzi. Rape is more than an intrusion, it’s a violent crime, that causes serious long term mental health effects for victims.”
Similarly, Margaret Lazarus, the executive director of RapeIs.org, who has written extensively about violence against women, thinks Stewart may need to reevaluate her word choice the next time she sounds off to the press.
Neil Irwin, Executive Director of the Men Can Stop Rape Organization, added that “Kristen Stewart equating her experience of the paparazzi with rape is like comparing a needle to a knife… Out of respect for these survivors, we would suggest using a more appropriate word, like ‘violation.’”