George Clooney has dissuaded his wife, Amal, from taking a trip to Azerbaijan after the couple discussed putting themselves on the line too much, the actor said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

After Amal's trip to the Maldives, the couple had a long talk about how much they should put themselves on the line, given that they are now parents.

"When she finally got out of there, she had another client in jail in Azerbaijan," said Clooney.

"And I said, 'I'll tell you what, let's make a deal: I won't go to South Sudan and you don't go to Azerbaijan. How is that?' And she said, 'For now, fine.' "

Amal Clooney has become the target of personal attacks by Azerbaijan's government-controlled media after the lawyer took on the case of Khadija Ismayilova, a 39-year old investigative reporter.

They also accused her of being Armenian after she laid her case before the European Court of Human Rights against a Turkish politician who denied the 1915 Armenian Genocide.