Jennifer Lawrence Opens Up About Making Less Money Than Her Male Co-Stars
Jennifer Lawrence in July (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
When the Sony hack revealed that Jennifer Lawrence made less than her male co-stars on American Hustle — despite being the biggest star of the movie — she was as shocked as anyone. But that discovery made her realize that she needed to get tough about demanding what she’s worth. In a new essay for Lena Dunham’s newsletter Lenny, Lawrence opened up about the Hollywood wage gap and how it’s affected her life.
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First off, the Hunger Games actress knows that her salary is far more than the average American makes — which is one reason she’s been reluctant to discuss her money woes. “It’s hard for me to speak about my experience as a working woman because I can safely say my problems aren’t exactly relatable,” Lawrence wrote. “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. (I told you it wasn’t relatable, don’t hate me).”
However, Lawrence also began to realize that her male co-stars saw their salary negotiations differently. Of settling for less money, Lawrence wrote, “I didn’t want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.’ At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn’t worry about being ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.’”
Though she acknowledged that being eager to please is part of her personality (and her relative youth), Lawrence also noted that “based on the statistics, I don’t think I’m the only woman with this issue… Could there still be a lingering habit of trying to express our opinions in a certain way that doesn’t
‘offend’ or ‘scare’ men?”
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She decided to be bold and find out. “A few weeks ago at work, I spoke my mind and gave my opinion in a clear and no-bulls— way; no aggression, just blunt,” Lawrence revealed. “The man I was working with (actually, he was working for me) said, ‘Whoa! We’re all on the same team here!’ As if I was yelling at him. I was so shocked because nothing that I said was personal, offensive, or, to be honest, wrong. All I hear and see all day are men speaking their opinions, and I give mine in the same exact manner, and you would have thought I had said something offensive.”
All things considered, Lawrence has decided to stop working so hard to be “likable” — especially when there’s money on the table. “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,” she wrote. “[American Hustle stars] 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.”
The actress concludes her essay by referencing another email released in the Sony hacks, in which producer Scott Rudin referred to Angelina Jolie as a “spoiled brat.” “For some reason,” wrote Lawrence, “I just can’t picture someone saying that about a man.”
Judging from the news, Lawrence is practicing what she preaches. In June, she successfully negotiated a $20 million salary for Sony’s sci-fi drama Passengers, co-starring Chris Pratt. In August, Forbes revealed that Lawrence was the highest-earning actress in Hollywood, bringing in $52 million over the previous twelve months. However, that number still paled in comparison to the income of the highest-paid actor, Robert Downey Jr., who took in $80 million over the same period.
