Jenny McCarthy slams Amanda Peet over 'vaccine-parasite' comment

Washington, Oct 1 : American actress Amanda Peet has earned herself the ire of American model Jenny McCarthy for her comments regarding parents who choose not to have their children vaccinated.

In a recently interview, Peet had referred to parents who did not choose to vaccinate their children as "parasites".

Though she later tried to make amends by apologizing to parents of autistic children who believe that vaccines may have caused the illness, the apology did not make any impression on McCarthy, who has a six-year-old son suffering from autism.

"She (Peet) has a lot of [nerve] to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side, and I like the fact that I can say she's completely wrong," Fox News quoted McCarthy as having told Spectrum magazine.

"I look at (Peet) now and say to myself, 'That was me before I had autism in my life,' and until she walks in our shoes, she really has no idea," McCarthy added.

Besides McCarthy, the national autism advocacy group Autism United has also expressed anger at Peet's comment, and called for a boycott of all of the actress's movies.

"We want to send a clear message to her," the organization's Executive Director John Gilmore told Pop Tarts in a statement.

"Ms. Peet's comments are deplorable and an apology will not suffice. We applaud Jenny McCarthy's continued efforts and for speaking up for our community," he added.

McCarthy and her long-time lover Jim Carrey have continued their crusade this past summer, and led a rally of thousands in Washington, D.C., to put pressure on the federal government to remove toxins from vaccines and fight for fewer childhood vaccinations prior to the age of two.

ANI