With everything going on around Harvey Weinstein, it’s important for strong women to get up and tell their stories about negative experiences they might have had. These stories give power to those women who may feel as though they don’t have a voice.
Recently, Jennifer Lawrence has spoken about a “degrading and humiliating” experience she had in the early stages of her career. Lawrence had to participate in a line-up of naked women, according to BuzzFeed.
The actress spoke at Elle’s Women in Hollywood event this past Monday night where she said when she was much younger, she was told by various film producers that she needed to lose 15 pounds in about two weeks or so.
Lawrence noted that another actress was actually fired from the role because she didn’t lose the weight that was needed fast enough.
In order to give her inspiration for her diet, Lawrence was made to participate in a line-up where she had to stand with other naked women. These women were much thinner than she was, which was supposed to motivate her to lose weight.
The actress said, “After that degrading and humiliating line-up, the female producer told me I should use the naked photos of myself as inspiration for my diet.”
After refusing to lose weight, Lawrence told a male producer that the demands were completely inappropriate. The male producer responded by saying that he didn’t know why everyone thought Lawrence was fat and that any man would gladly get into bed with her.
Lawrence continued, saying “I let myself be treated a certain way because I felt I had to for my career. I’m still learning that I don’t have to smile when a man makes me uncomfortable.”
The actress also added, “Every human being should have the power to be treated with respect because they’re human.” Her speech comes after the allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Harvey Weinstein who Lawrence worked with on Silver Linings Playbook.
In her speech, Jennifer praised the bravery of the women who came forward with their stories, noting “My heart goes out to all of the women affected by these gross actions. And I want to thank them for their bravery to come forward.”
She said, “In all of the sadness, I think it’s been oddly unifying. It’s so fundamental to the female experience to be mistreated and feel ashamed of it.” Her voice along with many others is extremely empowering.
