Jennifer Lawrence said she was placed in a "nude lineup" and told to lose 15 pounds while she was starting off in the entertainment industry. (Reuters)
Jennifer Lawrence revealed in a speech on Monday night that she was forced to participate in a “degrading and humiliating” lineup while naked and was told to lose weight when she was starting off her acting career.
Lawrence, who was being honored at Elle’s Women in Hollywood event in Los Angeles, stood at the lectern and detailed her experience of being mistreated in the entertainment industry.
“When I was much younger and starting out, I was told by producers of a film to lose 15 pounds in two weeks,” the 27-year-old actress said to a crowd that included Kristen Stewart, Margot Robbie and Ashley Greene.
“One girl before me had already been fired for not losing the weight fast enough,” she added. “During this time a female producer had me do a nude lineup with about five women who were much, much, thinner than me. We all stood side by side with only tape on covering our privates.”
Lawrence called it a “degrading and humiliating” experience and said the producer then told her she should “use the naked photos” of herself as “inspiration” for her diet.
When she did try to stand up for herself, another producer said she was “perfectly f—kable," Lawrence said.
“He said he didn’t know why everyone thought I was so fat, he thought I was ‘perfectly f--kable’,” Lawrence told the crowd.
Lawrence said she felt “trapped” by the experience and allowed the harassment to happen because she “didn’t want to be a whistleblower” and thought it was what she had to do to further her career in Hollywood.
“I’m still learning that I don’t have to smile when a man makes me uncomfortable,” she said. “Every human being should have the power to be treated with respect because they’re human.”
Lawrence’s speech comes on the heels of the Harvey Weinstein fallout. The disgraced movie mogul was accused of sexually assaulting multiple women. Lawrence, who worked with Weinstein for her Oscar-winning role in “Silver Linings Playbook,” said she was “deeply disturbed” to hear the news, People Magazine reported.
“I worked with Harvey five years ago and I did not experience any form of harassment personally, nor did I know about any of these allegations. This kind of abuse is inexcusable and absolutely upsetting,” she said in a statement.
Lawrence said on Monday night it was time for people in Hollywood to “stop normalizing these horrific situations.”
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