Earlier this week, Jennifer Lawrence raised a few eyebrows when she reflected on joining The Hunger Games franchise as main protagonist Katniss Everdeen during a sit-down interview that also featured Viola Davis (The Woman King, The Suicide Squad).
The Academy Award-winner stated that "nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie" before the YA novel adaptation, seemingly forgetting about the likes of Sarah Connor, Ellen Ripley, Lara Croft, etc.
At the time, we figured Lawrence must have either been misquoted or was simply relaying what she was told by the studio at the time, and the actress has now clarified her comments, making it clear that she didn't intend to minimize any of the women who paved the way for her success.
“That’s certainly not what I meant to say at all,” Lawrence explained to THR. “I know that I am not the only woman who has ever led an action film. What I meant to emphasize was how good it feels. And I meant that with Viola — to blow past these old myths that you hear about … about the chatter that you would hear around that kind of thing. But it was my blunder and it came out wrong. I had nerves talking to a living legend.”
This wouldn't be the first time Lawrence has come under scrutiny after speaking to the media, and while she generally tries to ignore the negativity, she felt the need to come out and offer an explanation for this one.
“One time I was quoted saying that Donald Trump was responsible for hurricanes. I felt that one was ridiculous, that it was so stupid I didn’t need to comment. But this one, I was like, ‘I think I want to clarify.'”
To be fair, the success of The Hunger Games movies did pave the way for studios to take more chances on female-fronted blockbusters, so Lawrence is well within her rights to give herself a pat on the back in that regard!