Anjelica Huston's confession that she savagely beat her cheating boyfriend Jack Nicholson has been branded "gravely concerning" and shameless by domestic abuse charities.

The Witches star, who dated the notorious womaniser on and off between 1973 and 1990, has revealed in her new autobiography, Watch Me, that she would read about his infidelities in the press and react with violence.

She recalled a particular incident, writing, "I beat him savagely about the head and shoulders. He was ducking and bending, and I was going at him like a prizefighter, raining a vast array of direct punches."

Representatives for anti-violence charities have now condemned Huston's candid admission and reiterated that violence is against a partner is completely unacceptable.

Mark Brooks, Chairman of ManKind, a charity which supports male victims of abuse, likens Huston's confession to the actions of British model/actress Kelly Brook, who admitted punching her ex-boyfriends, and singer Solange Knowles, who was captured on video beating her brother-in-law, rapper Jay Z.

He tells Wenn, "Following the lack of public outcry over Kelly Brook and Solange Knowles earlier this year, this continues a gravely concerning trend where committing violence against a man is seen as socially acceptable. It never is and never should be seen as ok, in exactly the same way it is not rightly acceptable when it is a woman who is at the receiving end."

Adam Fouracre, Chief Executive Officer of Stand Against Violence, adds, "The description of the attack is not one which highlights any remorse or shame in these actions. It is not acceptable to 'savagely' beat anyone, refer to oneself proudly as a 'prizefighter' whilst continuing to describe 'a vast array of direct punches' as if some sort of high octane action movie. We spend all of our time as a charity trying to change attitudes around violence, to show that it only takes one punch to end a life and leave others in grief and chaos... It is imperative that those with influence uphold and promote non violence and do their bit to make the society we live in safe... Those in the spotlight should be setting an example."

Polly Neate from Women's Aid tells Wenn, "Domestic violence is always unacceptable, regardless of whether the person is a celebrity or not. The majority of domestic violence involves a pattern of abusive behaviour, which involves controlling behaviour, rather than a one-off outburst. Rather than 'losing control' it is an attempt to gain control over their partner."