Scarlet Johansson defends onscreen sex scenes

The actress has angrily dismissed claims that her steamy sex scene in new movie The Black Dahlia is an unnecessary distraction.

In the film, Johansson enjoys a sizzling romp with Hartnett and critics have complained they found it difficult to concentrate following the raunchy scene.

"Of course it's nice to be considered sexy, as a young woman in my prime. But I try not to think about the sexiness. "And I never think about it being distracting from a scene," Contactmusic quoted her, as saying.

The 21-year-old beauty plays the woman caught between cops Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart, who are investigating the real-life unsolved murder of a wannabe actress whose mutilated body was discovered in Los Angeles in 1947.