Actress Charlize Theron has hit out at US gay marriage laws – branding the current regulations “a form of apartheid”.

Actress Charlize Theron has hit out at US gay marriage laws – branding the current regulations “a form of apartheid”.

The South African-born star is furious that same-sex unions have not yet been legalised in her adopted country, insisting she will not marry her long-term beau, Irish actor Stuart Townsend, until the laws are changed.

And the Oscar-winner compares America’s rules on same-sex marriages to her native country’s past apartheid laws, which segregated whites and non-whites.

She says: “I don’t like living in an elitist world, it bothers me. I don’t want to be part of an elitist sexual preference.

“It bothers me, maybe it’s because I come from a country where I lived under apartheid but this is a form of apartheid and I don’t want to be a part of that.

“My ability to get married is a piece of me that I wish I could give to somebody who it would mean so much to. We should all have the chance.

“It’s just so caveman, I can’t believe we’re still talking about it.”