JEN: ‘IT WAS MY CHOICE!’
ACTRESS JENNIFER LAWRENCE has never been one to hold her tongue or mince her words. And when she found herself at the centre of a controversy for wearing a plunging black Versace dress in a photo for new movie Red Sparrow she was quick to let rip.
The picture, taken on an icy London day, featured her male co-stars in warmer attire became internet fodder after British journalist Helen Lewis tweeted it was “a quietly depressing (and revealing) image”. It emphasised the differing societal expectations on how women and men should dress, she added.
And Jen wasn’t charmed. She hit back with a scathing social media post calling the backlash “sexist” and demanding critics “get a grip”.
“This isn’t only utterly ridiculous, I’m extremely offended,” the 27-year-old wrote on Facebook. “That Versace dress was fabulous. You think I’m going to cover that gorgeous dress up with a coat and a scarf? I was outside for five minutes. I would have stood in the snow for that dress because I love fashion and that was my choice.”
She later said she almost turned down the role in the film, in which she plays Dominika Egorova – a prima ballerina-turned-assassin whose expertise is seduction and manipulation – because of the nudity. She disclosed she’s been reluctant to appear naked in films since having private nude photos leaked back in 2014.
“I realised there was a difference between consent and not [consenting], and I showed up for the first day and I did it and I felt empowered,” she told US talk-show host Bill Whitaker. “I feel like something that was taken from me I got back and am using in my art.” You go, Jen!