When Jennifer Lawrence Sparked Backlash For Claiming To Be First Woman Lead. (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Jennifer Lawrence has seen her fair share of controversies as an A-list celebrity in the industry. Are you a movie star if you don’t end up in a headline or two for unflattering reasons? Most recently, the Joy Star drew criticism for seemingly disrespecting Asian stars at the 2024 Oscars.
While the disrespect was more of a perceived insult by netizens who opined the star pushed aside Michelle Yeoh while handing the Best Actress Oscar to Emma Stone, it didn’t stop social media users from getting out their tar and feathers.
Similarly, Lawrence sparked a backlash in 2018 for seemingly claiming to be the first woman to lead an action movie. Jennifer Lawrence made the comments in a sit-down discussion with Variety, in which she and fellow actor Viola Davis discussed inequities within the industry, among other topics.
During the discussion, Lawrence, who played protagonist Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games,” said, “I remember when I was doing ‘Hunger Games,’ nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn’t work. We were told girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead.”
The comment sparked outrage online, with social media users pointing out several other women have starred as leads in action films — including Angelina Jolie in “Salt” and “Tomb Raider,” Sigourney Weaver in the “Alien” films, Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill: Volume 1” and “Kill Bill: Volume 2.
Shortly after, Lawrence apologized to the Hollywood Reporter, saying, “That’s certainly not what I meant to say at all. I know that I am not the only woman who has ever led an action film.”
Lawrence clarified her comments, adding, “What I meant to emphasize was how good it feels to blow past these old myths that you hear about … about the chatter that you would hear around that kind of thing. But it was my blunder, and it came out.”
Meanwhile, The Real Housewives fan Jennifer Lawrence will soon get to flip a table or two in “The Wives,” a murder mystery inspired by the Bravo franchise. The project will be produced by Apple Studio A24, and Jennifer Lawrence.
