Jennifer Lawrence appeared on the New York Times podcast “The Interview” as part of her “Die My Love” press tour and got candid about her newfound reluctance to talk politics to the press. The Oscar winner has been outspoken against Donald Trump during the first US presidential administration, particularly writing an op-ed after Election Day declaring that Trump’s victory meant that “white men are the only people who feel safe[in America]and whose rights are recognized and respected.”
Asked by “The Interview” host Lulu Garcia-Navarro what he thought he would say about Trump and politics now, Lawrence said, “I don’t really know if I should. The first Trump administration was so wild, how can I let this go? I felt like I was running around like a cut chicken. But as we know election after election, celebrities have no influence on who people vote for. So what am I doing? I’m just sharing my opinion.” It will add fuel to the fire that will tear the country apart, we are so divided.
“I’m also an artist, so I think I’m going through a complicated recalibration,” Lawrence continued. “Given the temperature and the way things are going, I don’t want to start turning people away from films and art that has the potential to change consciousness and change the world just because they don’t like my political opinions. I want to protect my craft so that people can get excited about what I’m doing. If I can’t say anything that will lead to resolution, I don’t want to be part of the problem.I don’t want to create problems.”And what’s worse is that when you look at the faces of actors who have had incredible careers and made incredible contributions, half the internet doesn’t want to see their faces anymore. I’m very angry at those people and it feels very wrong. ”
Lawrence said she is able to communicate her political beliefs through her work, including the films her production company produces. These projects include “Bread and Roses,” which follows three Afghan women in the aftermath of a 2021 Taliban attack, and the abortion documentary “Zurawski v Texas.”
“I try to express my politics through my work,” she said. “A lot of the films that come out of my production company are politically charged, and that’s how I feel I can help.”
And when asked if he regretted anything he said in the past, he jokingly replied, “Maybe? I regret everything I’ve ever done and said. When I leave, I’m going to take the zip drives off all these cameras. A second term will feel different because he said what he was going to do. We knew for four years what he was going to do. He was very clear. And that’s what we chose.”
Lawrence’s press tour for Die My Love has largely been marked by her candid reflections on her career and how the public opposed her brash personality and outspokenness. She told Vanity Fair in 2021 that she took a two-year hiatus from Hollywood because “everyone was tired of me. I was tired of it.” In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Lawrence admitted that she understands why people would “reject” her character, as she was actually “annoying” in an old interview. She spoke more about this topic during a chat on “The Interview.”
“I get it, just like old interviews and stuff can be so tiresome. I was young and nervous and defensive and awkward,” Lawrence told Garcia-Navarro. “I remember when I was nominated for ‘Unique Playbook,’ someone said, ‘Everyone loves you!’ How are you feeling? “I thought: I feel unstable. I’m going down. That’s the nature of things. And I remember falling while holding the Oscar, and then the next year tripping over a cone as I was waving to the fans, and being like, “No one’s going to believe that I fell two years in a row…I mean, everyone thought everything I did was fake, it was all crap. It was like this for me: I found out it was this fraud.”
Referring to the grueling press tour cycle, Lawrence explained that her disgust with herself was partly because she was “tired of doing this.”
“It’s really scary to be interviewed. I’m so blessed, so lucky, so grateful, but it’s scary,” Lawrence said. “When you’re finishing an interview or preparing to release a movie, you put yourself out there. I was so tired of being quoted and people talking about those quotes and seeing myself that way. I needed a break from that. People needed a break from that. It was a mutual break.”
When the host of “The Interview” pointed out that Lawrence seemed “much more reserved” in press interviews than before, Lawrence said, “I’ve grown up, too, and yes, I’m much more nervous about what I say in public. I don’t want to do an interview that’s full of sound bites and word salad. I don’t think that’s interesting, it’s too inauthentic, and I don’t think that’s what I want to do here. So that’s what I’m trying to strike at balance. ”
Mubi will release “Die My Love” in theaters on November 7th. To hear Lawrence’s complete discussion on “The Interview,” visit the New York Times website.
