Actress Angelina Jolie suggested Tuesday that Hollywood moms with enormous wealth and status shouldn’t gripe about the hardships of motherhood.
In an interview with the New York Daily News, Miss Jolie, who has six children with actor Brad Pitt, said she’s “not a single mom with two jobs trying to get by every day.”
“I have much more support than most people, most women in this world. And I have the financial means to have a home and health care and food,” she said.
“I actually feel that women in my position, when we have all at our disposal to help us, shouldn’t complain. Consider all the people who really struggle and don’t have the financial means, don’t have the support, and many people are single raising children. That’s hard.”
Miss Jolie’s comments were reportedly in response to an interview with Chirlane McCray, wife of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, in which she told New York Magazine about “mom guilt” and the challenges she faced as a working mom.
The comments also seem to be a veiled criticism of famed actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who recently made headlines for suggesting that her job, in addition to caring for children, is more demanding than most.
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“I think it’s different when you have an office job,” she told E! News. “It’s routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening. When you’re shooting a movie, they’re like, ’We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,’ and then you work 14 hours a day and that part of it is very difficult. I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it’s not like being on set.”
In contrast, Miss Jolie argued Tuesday that the erratic schedule helps allow her to take time off if she wants to.
“When I feel I’m doing too much, I do less, if I can. And that’s why I’m in a rare position where I don’t have to do job after job. I can take time when my family needs it,” she told the Daily News.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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