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Angelina Jolie hits out over Madonna's adoption

The star attacks the Material Girl for choosing a child 'illegally'

Ange hugs her adopted son Pax

Angelina Jolie knows something about adopting children from other countries – so she can sympathize with Madonna, whose efforts to adopt 1-year-old David Banda from Malawi have sparked controversy.

"I have been horrified by the attacks she's been subjected to," Jolie tells the French magazine Gala. "All that should count is the happiness of her little David."

Still, Jolie, 31, whose son Maddox, 5, and Zahara, who turned 2 on Monday, are from Cambodia and Ethiopia, respectively, has some words of criticism for the singer.

"Madonna knew the situation in Malawi, where (David) was born," Jolie says. "It's a country where there is no real legal framework for adoption. Personally, I prefer to stay on the right side of the law. I would never take a child away from a place where adoption is illegal."

On Friday, Malawian child welfare official Adrina Mchiela said the government is satisfied with the way Madonna has been caring for David. "We have been monitoring her and so far we see a loving mother in Madonna and David is very fine," she told Reuters.

Human rights groups, however, have argued that Madonna, 48, used her wealth and celebrity to bypass Malawi's laws governing adoption by foreigners.

In her interview with Gala, Jolie also talks about her relationship with Brad Pitt. "Don't go repeating it whatever you do, but, yes I love him. I love him a lot," she says. "After I met him my life seemed more harmonious."