Twelve-year-old actress Dakota Fanning is at the centre of a controversy about her new film, 'Hounddog', in which she is raped by a teenage boy.
Religious groups in America are calling for a boycott of the film and others have questioned whether her family and the director of the film acted responsibly when asking her to act in a rape scene.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Fanning hit back at these comments.
"When it gets to the point of attacking my mother, my agent ... my teacher, who were all on the set that day, that started to make me mad," she said.
"I can let other things go, but when people start to talk about my mother... that's an attack, and that's not fair. They hadn't seen the movie," she continued.
Writer-director Deborah Kampmeier has defended the film, saying issues like child rape need to be discussed in public.
"This issue is so silenced in our society," she said. "There are a lot of women who are alone with this story."
In 'Hounddog', Fanning plays a 12-year-old girl who is raised by an abusive father and alcoholic grandmother in the American south.
The actress said she and Kampmeier talked about the story for months before the film was shot.
Since her debut on 'ER' in 2000, Fanning has starred in many films, including 'War of The Worlds', 'Man on Fire' and 'The Cat in the Hat'.
She will next be seen on Irish cinema screens in 'Charlotte's Web' from 9 February.
