Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence is facing backlash from the woke circles in Hollywood due to her recent claim of being the first female lead in an action movie. During a conversation with Viola Davis on Variety’s YouTube show “Actors on Actors,” Lawrence made a statement that has drawn significant criticism.
Reflecting on her experience filming “The Hunger Games,” Lawrence said, “I remember when I was doing ‘Hunger Games,’ nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn’t work. We were told that girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead. And it just makes me so happy every single time I see a movie come out that just blows through every one of those beliefs and proves that it is just a lie to keep certain people out of the movies, to keep certain people in the same positions that they’ve always been in.”
While Lawrence played the role of Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” and achieved considerable success in her career, it is evident that her claim is factually incorrect. She is not the first female to star as an action hero, as there have been several notable examples before her. For instance, in 2005, Natalie Portman portrayed an action hero in “V for Vendetta,” and Angelina Jolie fought her way to freedom as a former CIA agent in “Salt,” which was released two years prior to “The Hunger Games.” Additionally, Uma Thurman took the lead in “Kill Bill” in 2003, among many other instances.
Consequently, Lawrence has faced substantial criticism on social media platforms for her erroneous claim. Various Twitter users expressed their disapproval, highlighting the existence of previous female-led action films. One user wrote, “Jennifer Lawrence proclaiming she was the first woman to ever be the lead in an action movie… Clearly, she never saw Sigourney Weaver’s Alien franchise.” Another user accused Lawrence of seeking attention and undermining the accomplishments of other women, stating, “Jennifer Lawrence is not ‘woke’ or a feminist. She is just a narcissist who wants to take accomplishments away from women and rewrite history to look more profound than she really is. She will take credit for anything as long as it gets her in the headlines.”
Towards the end of the interview, Lawrence offered a potential explanation for her misguided claim, revealing that her lack of formal education has made her self-conscious about her intellect. She candidly admitted, “The biggest hindrance to my craft has been press, doing interviews. I’m always very self-conscious of my intellect because I didn’t finish school. I dropped out of middle school.”
While Lawrence’s success and contributions to the film industry should not be undermined, it is essential to acknowledge the numerous previous instances of female-led action movies. Hollywood has a rich history of empowering women in action roles, and these accomplishments should be celebrated and recognized accordingly.
