Natalie Portman Addresses 'Black Swan' Dancing Controversy

A month after Natalie Portman took home the Oscar for her portrayal of a prima ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's dark thriller "Black Swan," controversy erupted regarding whether she had actually performed the dances in the film. Portman's ballet body double, Sarah Lane, claimed that the majority of the dancing was performed by body doubles.

Those who worked closely with the star in "Black Swan" promptly spoke out to defend Portman. Her fiancé and co-star, Benjamin Millepied, initially spoke out about it, saying, "There are articles now talking about her dance double [Lane] that are making it sound like [Lane] did a lot of the work, but really, she just did the footwork, and the fouettés, and one diagonal [phrase] in the studio. Honestly, 85 percent of that movie is Natalie."

Aronofsky and Portman's foil in the film, Mila Kunis, have also been vocal about their support of Portman. However, up until now, Portman herself has remained mum on the subject.

When E! News spoke to the star at her junket for "Your Highness," she seemed completely content to brush off the chatter. "I had a chance to make something beautiful with this film and I don't want to give in to the gossip," she explained. She also noted that she has no further comment regarding the fact that she didn't give Lane a shout-out in her Best Actress Oscar acceptance speech.

"I don't remember my Oscar speech at all," she said. "And I'm actually too embarrassed to watch it."

While promoting "Black Swan," Portman spoke candidly to MTV News about the rigors of training for the film, which included months of prep to learn the proper way to dance ballet. "I definitely felt both physical and mental aftershocks from the experience, because it was the first thing I've ever done that was this physically demanding on top of an emotionally demanding part," she said of the "really extreme" training.