Angelina Jolie has come to the defense of her defenders.
After three of her bodyguards were jailed following a scuffle at a Mumbai, India, school Thursday, Jolie issued a statement, calling allegations that the men used racial slurs during the fracas a "horrible rumor" and blaming the paparazzi for the encounter.
The incident occurred at the Anjuman-e-Islam school Thursday, where the actress was filming scenes from A Mighty Heart. When parents arrived at the end of the day to collect their children, paparazzi reportedly rushed through the gates as well, sending Jolie's security team into action.
Enraged parents claimed that they and their children were verbally and physically abused by the bodyguards in the melee and subsequently filed a police complaint. Three guards were detained Friday and charged with assault, intimidation and intention to cause a "breach in the peace."
The British bodyguards, identified as Thomas McAdam, 47, Robert Dunn, 35, and Michael Brett, 50, were released on bail of 28,000 rupees each (around $625). If found guilty on the charges against them, they could serve up to three years in prison.
In her statement, Jolie indicated that the paparazzi played a large role in the debacle.
"It is not surprising that the press involved failed to mention their share of the responsibility in the chaos," 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."
As a condition of their release, the bodyguards were ordered to report daily to a Mumbai police station for the next seven days. A lawyer for the men told reporters that the case "appears to be in cold storage now," meaning that no further action was likely to be taken against them.
In an attempt to smooth things over, Brad Pitt, the patriarch of Jolie's mixed race family and the producer of A Mighty Heart, paid a visit to Mumbai's police chief to apologize for the incident and "clarify his position," India's Daily News & Analysis reported.
"I am sorry for whatever has happened and for any inconvenience caused to the sentiments of people. We love children and would not do anything to harm them," Police Commissioner AN Roy quoted Pitt as saying to him.
He told reporters that he had informed Pitt that no police permission was obtained for the shoot at the school and made him aware that getting permission was a necessary step in the future.
"While for earlier and some future film shoots, police permission was sought and granted by us, no permission had been sought for Thursday’s event," Roy said.
Dallington TV, the British production company that set up the shoot, claimed it had "the full permission and cooperation of the school to film on the premises," though parents complained they were never informed of the plans.
Since Jolie arrived in India last month, along with Pitt and their three children, the aggressive tactics used by her bodyguards have been well documented.
In one instance, a freelance photographer working for the Associated Press said he was punched and threatened with a gun by guards protecting the film's set in Pune, India. In another, a guard was caught on tape grasping a photographer by the throat and shoving him.
Earlier this week, when Jolie and her costar Dan Futterman filmed scenes on a crowded commuter train in Mumbai, a photographer who was in the same compartment as the actress told the BBC that her bodyguards threatened to throw him from the train if he came too close.