Jennifer Lawrence - H 2015
AP Images/Invision“When it comes to the subject of feminism, I’ve remained ever-so-slightly quiet,” writes Jennifer Lawrence in a new essay. “But with a lot of talk comes change, so I want to be honest and open and, fingers crossed, not piss anyone off.”
The actress’ essay — titled “Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co?Stars?” — appears in the Oct. 13 edition of Lenny, the feminist newsletter from Lena Dunham and her Girls co-showrunner Jenni Konner. Lawrence opens up about the difference in her pay from that of her American Hustle male co-stars, which was leaked to the public during last year’s Sony hack.
“When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need,” she explains.
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So why did she give up? “I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled,’ ” she confesses. “This is an element of my personality that I’ve been working against for years, and based on the statistics, I don’t think I’m the only woman with this issue. Are we socially conditioned to behave this way? … Could there still be a lingering habit of trying to express our opinions in a certain way that doesn’t ‘offend’ or ‘scare’ men?”
“I’m over trying to find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable! F— that,” she concludes. “I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard. It’s just heard. Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper all fought and succeeded in negotiating powerful deals for themselves. If anything, I’m sure they were commended for being fierce and tactical, while I was busy worrying about coming across as a brat and not getting my fair share.”
“Again, this might have NOTHING to do with my vagina, but I wasn’t completely wrong when another leaked Sony email revealed a producer referring to a fellow lead actress in a negotiation as a ‘spoiled brat,’ ” she adds in reference to producer Scott Rudin’s emailed comments about Angelina Jolie. “For some reason, I just can’t picture someone saying that about a man.”
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