Jennifer Lawrence was too afraid of being labelled “difficult” to demand the same salary as her male co-stars.
The Oscar-winning actress has voiced her frustrations over the Hollywood wage gap in an open letter published on Tuesday (13Oct15). She blames only herself and her insecurities for her reluctance to speak up after leaked Sony emails revealed she was paid less than her American Hustle castmates Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale.
"When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with d**ks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself," she writes. "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.
"But if I’m honest with myself, I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem 'difficult' or 'spoiled.' At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realised every man I was working with definitely didn’t worry about being 'difficult' or 'spoiled.' This could be a young-person thing. It could be a personality thing. I’m sure it’s both...”
This is the first time Jennifer has spoken out about the controversy which saw databases at Sony Pictures Entertainment hacked by activists and private emails, personal information and movies leaked onto the Internet last November (14). The letter, which was titled Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars, appeared in the latest edition of Lenny, Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner's newsletter.
The 25-year-old actress insists she won’t be making the same mistake in the future. Jennifer has vowed to make her voice heard and insists she and her female co-stars deserve to be treated as equals.
"I’m over trying to find the 'adorable' way to state my opinion and still be likable! F**k that,” Jennifer fumed. “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. Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper all fought and succeeded in negotiating powerful deals for themselves.
“If anything, I’m sure they were commended for being fierce and tactical, while I was busy worrying about coming across as a brat and not getting my fair share. Again, this might have NOTHING to do with my vagina, but I wasn’t completely wrong when another leaked Sony email revealed a producer referring to a fellow lead actress in a negotiation as a 'spoiled brat.' For some reason, I just can’t picture someone saying that about a man."
