If there was ever any doubt that Jennifer Lawrence is as tough, wise, and well-spoken as the heroines she plays in movies, it's just been put to rest. After her phone was hacked and intimate photos of her were posted online for everyone to see, she experienced a wide range of emotions — but ultimately, anchored her response on reason.
"Just because I'm a public figure, just because I'm an actress, does not mean that I asked for this," the 24-year-old told Vanity Fair. "It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It's my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can't believe that we even live in that kind of world."
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The Hunger Games star then argued the severity of the issue at hand. "It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime," she declared. "It is a sexual violation. It's disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change. That's why these Web sites are responsible."
Even though she understands their motives for posting the intimate images doesn't mean she can truly comprehend their actions. "Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody's mind is to make a profit from it. It's so beyond me," she lamented before adding, "I just can't imagine being that detached from humanity. I can't imagine being that thoughtless and careless and so empty inside."
Perhaps more shocking still was the fact that it wasn't just strangers looking at the racy shots. "Even people who I know and love say, 'Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures,'" she revealed. "I don't want to get mad, but at the same time I'm thinking, I didn't tell you that you could look at my naked body." She also went on to argue, "Anybody who looked at those pictures, you're perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame."
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But the hardest part for the Oscar-winning actress wasn't millions of strangers gaping at photos meant only for her private use. It was notifying her father. "When I have to make that phone call to my dad and tell him what's happened. … I don't care how much money I get for The Hunger Games, I promise you, anybody given the choice of that kind of money or having to make a phone call to tell your dad that something like that has happened, it's not worth it." Yet, in true Lawrence form, even in this moment she saw the silver lining. "Fortunately, he was playing golf, so he was in a good mood," she quipped.
Right after the photos were leaked, her first instinct was to write a statement. "I started to write an apology, but I don't have anything to say I'm sorry for. I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he's going to look at you," she reasoned, referring to ex-boyfriend Nicholas Hoult. "Every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry."
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Yet, she's not mad anymore. "Time does heal, you know," she explained. "I'm not crying about it anymore. I can't be angry anymore. I can't have my happiness rest on these people being caught, because they might not be. I need to just find my own peace."
