Bosses at movie company Fox Searchlight have issued a statement to address the growing criticisms of Natalie Portman's Oscar-winning role in 'Black Swan.' The star scooped the Best Actress Academy Award for her turn as unstable dancer Nina in the film last month, but has since faced claims a body double was used for most of the complicated ballet dancing scenes.
The stand-in - American Ballet Theatre dancer Sarah Lane - has fuelled the speculation by telling, "Of the full body shots, I would say five per cent are Natalie... I do want people to know that you cannot absolutely become a professional ballet dancer in a year and a half no matter how hard you work. I've been doing this for 22 years."
Now Fox Searchlight bosses have issued a statement to address the criticism. It reads, "We were fortunate to have Sarah there to cover the more complicated dance sequences and we have nothing but praise for the hard work she did. However, Natalie herself did most of the dancing featured in the final film."
Portman herself has yet to comment on the controversy.