What Jennifer Lawrence Has To Say About Equal Pay In Hollywood

Screen grab from video.
Screen grab from video.


Full disclosure: I am in love with Jennifer Lawrence. I am slightly obsessed with her. This is mainly to do with the fact that she played my Mockingjay to perfection. But it’s also because she’s awesome. Her epic response to the leak of her nude photos made me seriously respect the hell out of her. Her honest vulnerability coupled with her refusal to take crap from anyone is a powerful combination, and that makes her a great role model for young women.

She recently wrote an essay for Lenny Letter describing her reaction to discovering that equal pay is still not a reality in Hollywood. She made less than each of her male costars and director on American Hustle.

In typical, awesome, JLaw fashion, she writes:

“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 […]

“[I]f I’m honest with myself, I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. 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.'”

Women may not want to be seen as demanding during wage negotiations, which likely contributes to the gender wage gap. On average, women earn 79 percent of what men earn in the same position. That number is even lower for women of color.

This is still very much an issue that needs to be talked about. We can thank celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence for helping to bring the discussion of “equal pay for equal work” back to the forefront. Yes, she makes millions, and in some people’s minds, that may disqualify her from commenting on wage inequality, which is often seen as a lower- and middle-class issue. But that doesn’t change the validity of what she has to say:

“I’m over trying to find the “adorable” way to state my opinion and still be likable! F@ck that. 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.”