Saturday, 18 November 2006

Angelina Jolie speaks out about bodyguard arrests

Actress appalled by racist remark

Following the arrest of three of Angelina Jolie's bodyguards for allegedly roughing up parents at a school in India, the actress has spoken out about the incident.

"It is not surprising that the press involved failed to mention their share of the responsibility in the chaos," Jolie said in a statement.

According to Reuters, Indian police detained three of the actress's bodyguards on Friday after parents complained the men had manhandled them and their children at an Islamic school in Mumbai where Jolie was filming a scene for A Mighty Heart.

Mohammed Yusuf Patni, general secretary of the Anjuman-e-Islam school's Parent Teacher Association, told the Associated Press, "This Jolie's bodyguard called one parent, 'You bloody Indian.' "

In her statement, Jolie said, "As for this horrible rumor that someone referred to a local man as a 'bloody Indian,' let me say this: I would never work with anyone that was derogatory towards another man's race. My family is of mixed race."

According to reports, the fracas took place as parents tried to get into the school to pick up their children on Thursday and guards tried to keep paparazzi out.

"We have arrested three people. They are in jail now and will be produced in court," Brajesh Singh, Mumbai's deputy commissioner of police, told Reuters. He did not give a date for the court hearing.