Jennifer Lawrence reveals she was 'mistreated'

Jennifer Lawrence reveals she was 'mistreated'

She recently revealed that stripping off for the movie Red Sparrow helped her heal from the devastating 2014 phone hack which saw her n**e photos emerge online. 

And Jennifer Lawrence has now reflected on her rise to the top, adding her voice to the #MeToo movement where she bravely recalled incidents where she was 'mistreated and dehumanised' by powerful Hollywood Executives.

Labelling the Frances Lawrence directed thriller as 'the perfect movie that we need right now', the Oscar-winning American actress admitted that despite the 'pre-emptive anxiety' she felt 'empowered' after shooting the racy nu*e scenes.  

Known for her quick wit and sharp tongue, Jennifer cut a serious figure as she chatted to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about the historic #MeToo movement.

Despite her quick rise to the top with roles in movies such as Winter's Bone and The Hunger Games, the movie star admitted that powerful Hollywood Executives treated her 'in a way that I think now we would call abusive.'

'I had to deal with being young and having Executives or higher up put their hands on my legs and not feeling like I could say please don’t do that... I was certainly mistreated,' Jennifer remembered. 

The Silver Linings Playbook star remembered one experience in particular when a producer asked her to strip down and compare her body shape to 'much thinner woman' - an event she described as 'mentally brutal and dehumanising in a different way.'

And while Jennifer oozes body confidence on-screen, off-screen she admits: 'I had a lot of insecurities when it came to sexuality and nu*ity and my body and I've just been carrying them around for years.'

Remembering the moment she was approached for Red Sparrow, Jennifer revealed: 'When I read the script I loved it so much and I thought, if I don't do it... it's almost like all of these insecurities and fears win.'

Jennifer stars as Dominika Egorova, a Russian prima ballerina who is coerced into becoming a covert intelligence agent by her uncle in the film. 

Trained in the arts of seduction and sexual manipulation, Egorova is sent on a mission to extract secrets from an American CIA agent (Joel Edgerton). 

Speaking of shooting for the scenes that sees her nu*e on a number of occasions: 'The pre-emptive anxiety is so much worse than the actual reality. I had a good year to prepare mentally for what I was going to do. 

'The worst part was the night before. I didn't sleep at all. When I got there, everybody's so professional and so nice. I was perfectly comfortable, and afterwards I felt empowered. I still feel empowered.' 

Given her wholly positive experience shooting the tricky scenes for the flick, Jennifer confidently stated: 'It’s the perfect movie that we need right now. It opens up the conversation for the difference between consent and not consent.'

In recent months, Hollywood has been rocked with allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and dozens of other men. 

The movement began spontaneously in October after actress-activist Alyssa Milano tweeted: 'If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write "me too" as a reply to this tweet.'

The hashtag was tweeted nearly a million times in 48 hours. The #MeToo movement was founded by activist Tarana Burke on Twitter a decade ago to raise awareness about sexual violence. 

And speaking of the future of #MeToo Jennifer explained: 'If we create a community where survivors can come forward and talk, then there's going to be change and there's going to be no way of going backwards.'