‘Mad Men’s’ January Jones Defended by Co-Star John Slattery

Mad Men’s John Slattery has come to the defense of his co-star January Jones after the actress’ former onscreen son criticized her in an interview.

On Monday, an interview with 11-year-old Jared Gilmore surfaced on TV Guide in which the actor said: “Be careful around January. She’s not as approachable as the others. She’s really serious about what she does.”

As for the rest of the cast, Gilmore added, “Everyone else is so nice.”

But Slattery told E! Online on Monday night any perception of her as being unapproachable is due to her character’s personality and not the actress’.

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“Well, it’s an intimidating character,” he said at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Performers Peer Group 2011 Emmys cocktail reception at L.A.’s Sheraton Universal Hotel. “I mean, that’s the character. Betty Draper is an intimidating woman I suppose, if you were a 7-year-old boy [or] her son.”

He went on to describe her as a “sweetheart” and noted that no one in the cast — Jones included — acts like a diva on the set.

“We got lucky,” he said. “We don’t have anybody like that.”

Reps for Jones and Jared declined to comment to E! Online.

Gilmore isn’t the first to publicly criticize Jones. After she called Zach Galifianakis “the most naturally funny man she’s ever met,” the actor responded: “That’s really funny. Because, if I remember correctly, she and I were very rude to each other.”

Galifianakis added: “I was at a party — I’d never met her — and she was like, ‘Come sit down.’ So I sit at her table and talk for 10 minutes, and she goes, ‘I think it’s time for you to leave now.’ So I say, ‘January, you are an actress in a show and everybody’s going to forget about you in a few years, so f—ing be nice,’ and I got up and left.

And she thinks that’s funny?”