From SFGate.com’s Daily Dish, Salon’s Broadsheet, Eonline’s Marc Malkin:

In response to public criticism, actress Amanda Peet (left, with daughter Frances) has apologized for referring to parents who refuse to vaccinate their children as “parasites.”

New mom Peet used the term during an interview with the Conde Nast magazine Cookie. She said she was “shocked at the amount of misinformation floating around, particularly in Hollywood” about unproven links between vaccines and autism. Actress Jenny McCarthy and boyfriend Jim Carrey recently led a march on Washington to raise awareness about alleged toxins in children’s vaccines

“I believe in my heart that my use of the word ‘parasites’ was mean and divisive … I completely understand why it offended some parents, and in particular, parents of children with autism who feel that vaccines caused their illness. For this I am truly sorry,” said Peet.

Peet is among the stars of “The X Files: I Want to Believe,” which debuts later this month. Salon lists her as a spokeswoman for Every Child by Two, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting vaccines founded by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, but she does not appear on the organization’s website. Reader responses to Peet’s original comment start here.

(Photo from Cookie magazine)

This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 9:20 am and is filed under autism, celebrities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.