Washington (ANI): Actress Natalie Portman believes that some of the criticism directed towards Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is rooted in sexism. "A lot of the stuff people say about her, I hear it and my stomach falls because it's so sexist. You ask people why they don't like her and it's because her husband cheated on her! That was obviously not her choice," Usmagazine.com quoted the actress, as saying in the April issue of Elle.

Feminist author Camille Paglia has accused Clinton of presenting herself as a victim after the former first-lady of USA made a Clinton surprise appearance on Saturday night Live (SNL)l last weekend. On the other hand, 'The Other Boleyn Girl' star is all praises for Clinton and refers to her as "much more polished and experienced than anyone else."

"I also like Obama. I even like [John] McCain. I disagree with his war stance – which is a really big deal – but I think he's a very moral person. I met him and Hillary on the same day, actually, when I went to Washington with Finca [a nonprofit that gives loans to businesswomen in developing countries]," she said.

She added: "Hillary was by far the smartest person I met that day. Just totally focused, and knew more about the issues than anyone else, and was so able to go from one thing to the other." Meanwhile, Portman isn't the only star defending Clinton; even Eva Longoria emceed an event in Texas for the presidential candidate.