Jennifer Lawrence Breaks Her Silence About the Sony Leak and Getting Paid Less Than Her Male Co-Stars

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published 13 October 15

In a new essay for Lenny (opens in new tab), Jennifer Lawrence finally opens up about the Sony leak that exposed the fact that she made significantly less money (opens in new tab) than her male American Hustle co-stars. But unlike us, who were like, "WTF, Sony?!", Lawrence had a completely different, completely surprising, completely J.Law response.

"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," she wrote (opens in new tab). "I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn't want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don't need. (I told you it wasn't relatable, don't hate me)."

Why didn't she speak out sooner, when so many of her colleagues have been so vocal about the gender gap in Hollywood? She shies away from anything that seems like it's just "trending," she explains (opens in new tab)—but she also didn't want to be seen as "difficult."

Now?

"I'm over trying to find the 'adorable' way to state my opinion and still be likable! Fuck that," she wrote. "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."

Damn straight. Now let's focus on getting that Amy and Jen sister movie made (opens in new tab), shall we?

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Samantha Leal

Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.