LOS ANGELES — New mom January Jones says she is nothing like her “Mad Men” mommie dearest character Betty Draper Francis — but she is still protective of her frosty alter ego.
“I find myself defending her a lot more often, just because people are pretty hard on her lately,” Jones, mom to 6-month-old son Xander, told The Daily.
“All of her actions are justified. Her husband’s cheating on her, and then she finds out that he’s not who he says he is. That probably warrants a divorce. And, you know, [daughter] Sally shouldn’t be masturbating at other people’s houses or she’s going to get slapped,” Jones, 34, said.
Fans of “Mad Men,” whose long-awaited fifth season premieres Sunday on AMC, will know that Jones is referencing her philandering on-screen ex-husband Don Draper [played by actor Jon Hamm] and their precocious daughter Sally [12-year-old actress Kiernan Shipka], whom Jones actually slapped last season.
“I’d rather slap than be slapped, but it’s one thing to do it to a grown woman and another thing to do it to a child,” Jones said bashfully.
Motherhood is of present interest to the actress, having welcomed Xander, whose dad remains a mystery, in September.
She began filming the new season while eight months pregnant and returned to the set when Xander was “six or seven weeks old.”
How her real-life pregnancy will affect her on-screen character is a source of widespread nail-biting among fans, but Jones says creator Matthew Weiner rose to the occasion.
“I called him … and said, ‘I’m pregnant, so by the time that we start shooting, I’m going to be really pregnant, so, you know, have fun with that, basically,'” Jones recalled.
“He just was silent for a little bit, but I think he works really well with a challenge, because I love what he decided to do,” she added.