Jennifer Lawrence Doesn’t Want to Speak Out on Trump and Politics: ‘Celebrities Don’t Make a Difference on Who People Vote For’
Jennifer Lawrence says she’s become more careful about sharing her political views in public.
The actor opened up about it on The Interview podcast from The New York Times, where she spoke with host Lulu Garcia-Navarro during her press tour for the upcoming film Die My Love.
Lawrence was very outspoken during Donald Trump’s first term as president, even writing an op-ed criticizing his victory after the 2016 election. But now, she admits she’s unsure if speaking out still helps.
“I don’t really know if I should,” she said when asked if she plans to continue discussing politics publicly. “The first Trump administration was so wild and just how can we let this stand? I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. But as we’ve learned, election after election, celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for.”
She added that sharing political opinions might do more harm than good. “So then what am I doing? I’m just sharing my opinion on something that’s going to add fuel to a fire that’s ripping the country apart. We are so divided,” she said.
Lawrence explained that she’s trying to find a new balance as both an artist and a public figure. “I think I’m in a complicated recalibration because I’m also an artist,” she said.
“With this temperature and the way things can turn out, I don’t want to start turning people off to films and to art that could change consciousness or change the world because they don’t like my political opinions. I want to protect my craft so that you can still get lost in what I’m doing.”
She said that if she can’t speak in a way that promotes peace or understanding, she’d rather not say anything. “If I can’t say something that’s going to speak to some kind of peace or lowering the temperature or some sort of solution, I don’t want to be a part of the problem,” Lawrence said.
She also mentioned feeling bad for actors who face backlash online because of their views, adding, “You watch these actors’ faces who have had incredible careers and made incredible contributions and then one half of the internet doesn’t want to see their face anymore. I get so upset for those people and it feels so wrong.”
Instead of speaking directly about politics, Lawrence said she’s expressing her beliefs through her work. Her production company has produced socially conscious projects such as Bread and Roses, a documentary about women in Afghanistan, and Zurawski v. Texas, which focuses on abortion rights.
“I try to express my politics through my work,” she explained. “A lot of movies coming out from my production company are expressions of the political landscape and that’s how I feel like I can be helpful.”
When asked if she regrets how she handled political discussions in the past, Lawrence responded with humor. “Probably? I regret everything I’ve ever done or said. I’m going to take the zip drives out of all of these cameras when I leave,” she joked. She also said Trump’s second term feels different because “he said what he was going to do. We knew what he did for four years. He was very clear. And that’s what we chose.”
The conversation also touched on how her relationship with fame has changed. Lawrence said she once felt burned out from constant attention and criticism, which led her to take a step back from Hollywood. In previous interviews, she said she needed a break because both she and the public had “gotten sick” of her.
On The Interview, Lawrence talked about looking back at her younger self with mixed feelings. “As horrified as I am at some things — like an old interview or something, so cringe — I get it. I was young and nervous and defensive and awkward,” she said. She also recalled how a few embarrassing red-carpet moments made her feel misunderstood.
She admitted that interviews still make her nervous. “Doing interviews is really scary,” Lawrence said. “You finish an interview or you’re gearing up to release a film and you’re putting yourself out there to be picked apart.”
She said she’s now more careful about what she says because she doesn’t want her words to be taken out of context. “I’ve also grown up. And yeah, I’m a lot more nervous about whatever I say publicly. I don’t want to give an interview that’s a bunch of sound bites and a word salad,” she explained. “I’m trying to strike that balance.”
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