Angelina Jolie Faces Backlash Over Madonna Comments  1/12/07

Adoption groups have hit back at Angelina Jolie after she criticized the way Madonna gained custody of Malawian baby David Banda - insisting there are still question marks over her adoption of Cambodian son Maddox.

Jolie was quoted in French magazine Gala this week (08JAN07), saying, "Madonna knew the situation in Malawi, where he was born. It's a country where there is no real legal framework for adoption.

"Personally, I prefer to stay on the right side of the law. I would never take a child away from a place where adoption is illegal."

But adoption experts have pointed out Jolie - who has since claimed the magazine fabricated quotes - adopted five-year-old Maddox through an agency in 2002 that was later found guilty of fraud, reports PageSix.

Cambodian officials have since tightened up their adoption procedures, making it incredibly difficult for foreigners to gain custody of orphans in the same way as the movie star.

Tatiana Beams, an international adoption advocate from Seattle, says, "Angelina is not a hero in the adoption community.

"(She) does nothing, or at least very little, to keep international adoption open and legal for American families and children."

David Rtasnik, the director of Americans Adopting Orphans, also expressed concern over Jolie's method of adopting Maddox, but admits, "(At the time) it was the largest agency in the world. Angelina Jolie wouldn't know that she was entering into a questionable adoption."