Jennifer Lawrence: “I’m Not Trying to be a GIF”
Jennifer Lawrence wants 3 months off from being famous. (Photo: Patrick Demarchelier)
While actress Jennifer Lawrence is known for being hysterical and candid, don’t expect Lawrence to be sharing herself on social media anytime soon. “I want to fly under the radar… I want people to have less me,” Lawrence tells Glamour. “They don’t know that they [want less me]. But when they get more me, they’ll hate me. If they don’t already…but my mouth has made it impossible.” But don’t get her wrong, she’s not a tortured artist. “I don’t feel like I’m misunderstood, I feel like I’m over-paid-attention-to,” she says. “I’m not trying to be a GIF. I’m not trying to be a picked-up-on-Twitter quote. All I’m trying to do is act… I’m just a girl, sitting in front of the world, asking them to forgive her for speaking.” We forgive you, J. Law. In fact, we think everybody does. As the highest paid actress of 2015, raking in $52 million, clearly the world can’t get enough of her.
Lawrence is known for being outspoken. This year she penned a piece on Lenny about being paid less than her male co-stars and regularly makes quips that get circulated around the web. “I keep going back and forth on being opinionated,” she says. “I completely agree when there are actors who say, ‘Actors should stay out of politics. We’re not politicians.’ [And] my business is based on everybody buying tickets and seeing my movie… It’s not smart, businesswise, to be opinionated. But then what’s the point in having a voice at all if I’m not going to use it for what I truly believe in?” Lawrence knows the influence she has, and while she’s a little afraid to use it, she knows she should.
Jennifer Lawrence “just knew” she had to be an actress. (Photo: Patrick Demarchelier)
Unfortunately for her, success means serious fame, and flying under the radar is definitely not an option. “It took a few years to adjust [to fame]. I didn’t really realize how angry and distorted I felt. For, like, probably a solid three years,” she says. “I still felt entitled to a certain life that I just wasn’t allowed to have [anymore]. I felt like I had the right to say, ‘I don’t want to be photographed right now, I don’t want people outside my house right now, I don’t want my nephews in People.’” And she says she was enraged, not ashamed by her 2014 stolen and leaked nude photos. “I felt so much anger of ‘Why can’t I just do my job?’ And then you just get used to it—and it just is.”
She’s redefining #squadgoals, too, befriending Hollywood’s most loved and ushering in a new generation of celebrities who are conflicted about their fame. Members of J. Law’s squad take a similar stance on celebrity and social media to hers, and only want to be famous because it goes hand-in-hand with success in their given industries. Like her, they’re very driven. Her friend Adele recently revealed that she expects to be in the public eye for another 20 years if she wants to continue making music – which she does – and that to make a great and authentic album, she needs to be a bit of a recluse. Emma Stone steers clear of social media, and Amy Schumer shares Lawrence’s opinions on feminism and the Planned Parenthood attacks. The two even plan to grow old together on Martha’s Vineyard after meeting only months ago when Trainwreck released. We would love to see an Instagram of that.
Related:
Jennifer Lawrence Speaks Out on Being Paid Less Than Her Male Costars
