Jennifer Lawrence draws criticism over comment about female action heroes
Jennifer Lawrence draws criticism over comment about female action heroes
Jennifer Lawrence is seen here in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1." (Murray Close/Lionsgate/Everett Collection)
Jennifer Lawrence shared her thoughts on the history of female-led action movies in a new interview, but the "Hunger Games" star is getting some flak for not quite getting it right.
The Oscar winner spoke with fellow actress Viola Davis in an interview for Variety published on Wednesday, in which she mused on the past state of action movies with a female lead.
"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 -- because we were told girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead," Lawrence told Davis, who this year starred in her own action-heavy film, "The Woman King."
The "Silver Linings Playbook" actress went on to say that it makes her "so happy every single time" she sees a movie that proves women can indeed occupy those roles in movies.
People on social media were quick to point out, however, that Lawrence was far from the first female action hero, with many tweets referencing Sigourney Weaver in the "Alien" franchise, Linda Hamilton in the "Terminator" movies and Pam Grier in films like "Foxy Brown" -- all of which predate "The Hunger Games" franchise. (The first film, based on the popular YA series of novels, came out in 2012, while the last movie was released in 2015.)
"It is untrue that no one had ever put a woman in an action movie before Jennifer Lawrence in 'Hunger Games,'" Franklin Leonard, founder of The Black List, a platform that helps film and TV writers get their screenplays read by influential Hollywood figures, said, responding to a clip of the interview on Twitter. "It is absolutely true that Hollywood had and has a real bias against women driven action movies because of this ridiculous belief about who identifies with whom."
Other examples brought to light in comments on Twitter and beyond pointed to Michelle Yeoh in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and other films, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez in the "Resident Evil" franchise, Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill" and Angelina Jolie in the "Tomb Raider" movies.
CNN has reached out to representatives of Jennifer Lawrence for clarification on her statement.
The Biden administration is considering a plan to shoot down a large Chinese balloon suspected of conducting surveillance on U.S. military, by bringing it down once it is above the Atlantic Ocean where the remnants could potentially be recovered, according to four U.S. officials.
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars. W5's documentary 'Buried Evidence' airs Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV.
The massive white orb drifting across U.S. airspace has triggered a diplomatic maelstrom and is blowing up on social media. A look at what's known about the balloon crossing the U.S. and what isn't.
The oldest preserved vertebrate brain has been found in a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish skull that was removed from an English coal mine over a century ago.
In the field of cancer treatment, nothing is more important than diagnosing and treating the problem as quickly as possible — but according to new survey data, about one in four Canadian cancer patients report that they are still experiencing cancelled or postponed appointments.
Canada announced that it had called China's ambassador onto the carpet as Ottawa and Washington expressed their disapproval Friday over a high-altitude balloon found to have been hovering over sensitive sites in the United States.
A group of airlines is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear their case after a lower court largely upheld the validity of Canada's air passenger bill of rights.
Medicago Inc., the Quebec-based drug manufacturer of a Canadian COVID-19 vaccine and other plant-based drugs, is being shut down by parent company Mitsubishi Chemical Group.
Pope Francis warned Saturday that South Sudan's future depends on how it treats its women, as he highlighted their horrific plight in a country where sexual violence is rampant, child brides are common and the maternal mortality rate is the highest in the world.
A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order and a declaration of a state of emergency in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below.
A landmine killed a 13-year-old boy in the contested Yemeni city of Hodeida, medical and security officials said Friday, the latest in a string of similar incidents in the war-torn country.
The suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that was found floating over sensitive military sites in the western United States had been tracked by Canada's government since last weekend as it passed through Canadian airspace, sources tell CTV News.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is hosting an in-person meeting Friday with the provincial and territorial finance ministers in Toronto to discuss issues including the current economic environment and the transition to a clean economy.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
Ontario fully supports the federal government's push to make health-care funding contingent on data reporting, the province said Thursday as it announced a plan to boost access to primary care doctors.
White-tailed deer may be a reservoir for COVID-19 variants of concern including Alpha, Delta and Gamma, according to new research out of Cornell University that raises questions about whether deer could re-introduce nearly extinct variants back into the human population.
Using a device that might be described as a super-duper cocktail shaker, scientists have fashioned a previously unknown form of ice - one that might exist on our solar system's icy moons - in research that sheds light on water's behaviour under extreme conditions.
The oldest preserved vertebrate brain has been found in a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish skull that was removed from an English coal mine over a century ago.
Three bodies found in a vacant Detroit-area apartment building have been identified as those of three aspiring rappers who went missing nearly two weeks ago, police said Friday.
Mexican actor Pablo Lyle was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter after fatally punching a man during a road rage confrontation in Miami in 2019.
A California jury has ruled that Elon Musk is not liable for losses experienced by Tesla shareholders following his controversial "funding secured" tweet from 2018.
A Yukon court has quashed government approval for a mining exploration project, siding with a First Nation that argued there was a failure to properly consult it about the project on its traditional territory.
A Portuguese dog named Bobi has been named the world’s oldest living dog by Guinness World Records, which claims the pooch is also the oldest canine ever recorded.
Canada's newest millionaire, an 18-year-old university freshman from northern Ontario, has achieved a lot of firsts with a recent lottery win. Here is her story.
It took 40 years, but former NHL player and coach Ted Nolan is now one of eight Indigenous ex-NHL-ers being honoured hockey trading cards as a part of Upper Deck's First Peoples Rookie Card series.
The world’s largest international Arctic sporting event is underway in northern Alberta, where athletes compete in unique games significant to the cultural identity of the North.
Unable to get a new contract, Kyrie Irving is looking for a new address. The All-Star guard has asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade, a person with knowledge of the details said Friday.
Formula One's governing body confirmed the six engine providers for the 2026-30 cycle on Friday which aims to use sustainable fuels and greater electric power.
Ford will return to Formula One as the engine provider for Red Bull Racing in a partnership announced Friday that begins with immediate technical support this season and engines in 2026.
Jennifer Lawrence is seen here in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1." (Murray Close/Lionsgate/Everett Collection)
