Jennifer Lawerence reveals how she was pressured to lose weight for a role

The Hunger Games star said she felt a 'huge responsibility' not to go on a diet

Jennifer Lawrence
(Image credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

We love it when celebrities call out diet culture  - and Jennifer Lawrence has done just that, when talking to actress Viola Davis for Vanity Fair.

The Hunger Games star said how much of an 'honour' it was to play the lead part in the films, but she revealed as soon as she got the part the conversation automatically went to her weight and how much she was going to lose for the role.

The actor, who said she felt like she lost control of her career after her Hunger Games success, revealed how much of a 'huge responsibility' playing the lead role was as she knew fans of the book would be children.

J-Law took on the lead role as Katniss Everdeen at just 20 and said that she was 'too young' to go on a diet, and refused to lose any weight for the role. We love how, even at a young age, she stood up for what she believed in. 

Jennifer starred in the Hunger Games movies which propelled her into Hollywood, with other notable roles in films following such as Joy, Passengers and American Hustle.

Talking to Viola, who she admitted she was in awe of, she said: "In Hunger Games, it was an awesome responsibility. Those books were huge, and I knew that the audience was children."

While she went on to admit: "I remember the biggest conversation was, 'How much weight are you going to lose?'"

Despite the pressure from Hollywood execs, she said she felt a huge pressure to be 'normal'.

"Along with me being young and growing and not able to be on a diet, I don't know if I want all of the girls who are going to dress up as Katniss to feel like they can't because they're not a certain weight. And I can't let that seep into my brain either," the Don't Look Up actress admitted to Viola. 

In the same interview Jennifer, who welcomed her son Cy earlier this year with husband Cooke Maroney, spoke about how scared she was of becoming a mother, admitting: "It was the scariest thing in the entire world to think about making a family. 

"What if I fuck up? What if I can’t do it? And I was so scared that I would fuck it up."

So here for J-Law's honesty and vulnerability.

Sarah Finley
Sarah is a freelance journalist - writing about the royals and celebrities for Marie Claire, fitness for Women's Health and Tech Radar and travel for the Evening Standard and Woman & Home. She covers a variety of other subjects too and loves interviewing leaders and innovators in the beauty, travel and wellness worlds for numerous UK and overseas publications. Sarah can normally be found trying out the latest fitness class or on a plane to an exotic destination - and of course, writing about them.