Estrada urges Danes boycott

Estrada urges Danes boycott

MANILA (AFP): President Joseph Estrada called on Thursday for a national boycott of rising Hollywood star Claire Danes over published comments in which she trashed the Philippines for its beggars and unsanitary conditions.

"She should not be allowed to set foot here," Estrada, a retired movie star himself, told reporters. He said he backed a resolution passed by the Manila city council this week to ban films featuring the teenager. "Her remarks are uncalled for," Estrada said.

Danes, whose film credits include Romeo and Juliet and Little Women, was a recent Manila visitor during the shoot of the movie Brokedown Palace, about two American tourists' travails in Bangkok and which is set for release in the United States later this year.

The city council's resolution has received mixed reviews here, with some arguing that Danes was merely telling the truth. Danes made the unflattering comments in recent issues of Vogue and Premiere magazines, the daily said.