Actress Idina Menzel has come under fire from a mental health charity after joking about slashing her wrists. The Wicked and Frozen star had been asked by a journalist which songs made her cry.

She replied: "You'd think because I'm a singer I listen to a lot of music, which I do, but there's certain music that I think is so devastatingly beautiful that it's too painful to listen to sometimes.

"There's this Meshell Ndegeocello album, Bitter, that I just can't listen to. It's so good. It makes me just want to slit my wrists."

Her apparently flippant response did not impress the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which said she was showing a “lack of education” and making light of a serious issue.

Jessica Cruz, executive director of the charity, accused Menzel of "joking about self-harm when self-harm is not a joke".

She added: "Self-harm and suicide is a very serious situation. Some people may not realise the impact of that type of statement.

"It shows a lack of education around the pain families and individuals go through and further stigmatises mental health."

The singer, who is perhaps best known for voicing the role of Elsa in the Disney film, Frozen, was on the show to promote her role in a television remake of the iconic 1988 film, Beaches. She has taken on the role of CC Bloom, which was initially played by fellow Jewish actress, Bette Midler.