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Peter Rabbit: Sony Pictures sorry for food allergy 'bullying'

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Peter Rabbit Film - 2018Image source, Columbia/Sony Pictures/REX/Shutterstock

Sony Pictures has said sorry after complaints about a scene in the new Peter Rabbit film.

During one part of the story, Peter and his friends throw blackberries at a character who is allergic to the fruit.

The film adaptation of the Beatrix Potter book Peter Rabbit, was released in US cinemas this weekend.

In it, the character Tom McGregor, who has an allergy to blackberries, is attacked by Peter and his friends who shower him with the fruit, even shooting one into his mouth, until he is forced to use an EpiPen - a special injection which helps people with allergies deal with a bad reaction.

Image source, Columbia/Sony Pictures/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

Some charities and people on social media have said this sets a really bad example of bullying and makes a joke out of food allergies.

The charity Kids with Food Allergies Foundation said food allergy jokes "are harmful to our community".

Sony Pictures and the filmmakers say that it was wrong to include the scene "even in a cartoonish, slapstick way".

They say they "sincerely regret not being more aware and sensitive to this issue, and we truly apologise".