What Was It Like For Jennifer Lawrence When Her Nude Pics Leaked?
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Jennifer Lawrence unloaded more than a few choice words about the photo hack exposing private photos of hers and other female celebrities in August.
By Samantha Khor — 08 Oct 2014, 12:12 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Jennifer Lawrence has finally broken her silence regarding her stolen nude photos which were leaked on 4chan in August this year
“I was just so afraid. I didn’t know how this would affect my career," the Hunger Games star said to Vanity Fair
Jennifer Lawrence on the cover of Vanity Fair's November issue.
Image via VANITY FAIR/Patrick DemarchelierLawrence originally met with V.F. contributing editor Sam Kashner on August 13. News broke that hackers had stolen personal photos of her and posted them online on August 31—two weeks after the interview and a month after her July 29 cover shoot with Patrick Demarchelier. So Kashner followed up with Lawrence’s team in hopes of giving the actress “a chance to have the last word."
Lawrence's cover spread, which features classy almost-nude shots of the starlet, highlights what makes the privacy invasion so disgraceful: lack of consent
The crucial difference between this and the leaked images, of course, is that this one isn't fully nude and that, more to the point, Lawrence approved its publication. The power dynamics here—and the moral and legal dynamics, too—come down to consent. And to this image, and the straight-ahead shot on the magazine's cover, Lawrence has given her approval.
theatlantic.com
Lawrence wanted to write a statement when news of the privacy invasion broke, but “every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry". She ultimately decided that she had nothing to apologize for, saying:
"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.”
“Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this,” she says. “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. ”
She also labelled the photo hack a "sex crime", further elaborating that there should be laws set in place to protect people from being "sexually exploted and violated"
“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. 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. I just can’t imagine being that detached from humanity. I can’t imagine being that thoughtless and careless and so empty inside.”
Lawrence also had a few choice words for the offending hackers and those who viewed the images online, saying that they are "perpetuating a sexual offense" and that they "should cower with shame"
“Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame. Even people who I know and love say, ‘Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures.’ 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.”
Lawrence also shares a message for the tabloid community: “You have a choice. You don’t have to be a person who spreads negativity and lies for a living. You can do something good. You can be good. Let’s just make that choice and—it feels better.”
As if having her nude photos scattered all over the Internet wasn't bad enough, the starlet also recapped the ultimate nightmare of having to tell her dad about it
“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,” she says. “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.” She allows herself to joke a little about that terrible moment: “Fortunately, he was playing golf, so he was in a good mood.”
Now that she has said her piece, Lawrence has come to terms with what had happened. She's chosen to focus on the future instead.
“Time does heal, you know,” she tells Kashner. “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 just need to find my own peace.”