Jennifer Lawrence has responded to calls her outfit at the Red Sparrow London photo call was sexist.
The black floor-length Versace gown with a deep V-neck bust line and thigh-high split wasn’t the problem. What her male co-stars wore was.
Because while the men – Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons, Matthias Schoenaerts and the film’s director Francis Lawrence – were rugged up in layers of coats and sweaters on Thursday, poor Jen was freezing her bits off, starved of a jacket. Or so people assumed.
Newstatesman deputy editor Helen Lewis pointed out the ‘sexist’ dress code in a tweet that’s been retweeted almost 2000 times.
“This is such a quietly depressing (and revealing) image. Not least because I’ve been outside today and it’s bloody FREEZING,” she said.
“True equality means either Jennifer Lawrence getting a coat, or Jeremy Irons having to pose for a photocall in assless chaps.”
A pile on of criticism quickly followed online, with many agreeing with Lewis’ sentiment. Only, no one stopped to ask what the woman wearing said dress thought about it all.
The 27-year-old actress has since addressed the public backlash against the photo, calling it “utterly ridiculous”.
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“Wow. I don’t really know where to get started on this ‘Jennifer Lawrence wearing a revealing dress in the cold’ controversy,” she posted to her Facebook page.
“This is not only utterly ridiculous, I am extremely offended. That Versace dress was fabulous, you think I’m going to cover that gorgeous dress up with a coat and a scarf? I was outside for 5 minutes. I would have stood in the snow for that dress because I love fashion and that was my choice.”
Lawrence went on to point out what could be seen as an unfortunate side effect of positive movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp – the ‘over policing’ of feminism.
“This is sexist, this is ridiculous, this is not feminism. Over- reacting about everything someone says or does, creating controversy over silly innocuous things such as what I choose to wear or not wear, is not moving us forward. It’s creating silly distractions from real issues. Get a grip people.”
“Everything you see me wear is my choice. And if I want to be cold THATS MY CHOICE TOO!”
Are you worried about feminist policing? Did we take things too far with Jennifer Lawrence’s dress?
Top Comments
YES! Well done. I am so sick of people jumping on every tiny thing as an "injustice" to women.
Same goes for grid girls.....they CHOOSE to wear the outfits and LOVE their job but modern feminism says they shouldn't have the CHOICE. CRAZY!!!!!!
Nope, Grid Girls are sexist. They make it harder for female drivers to be taken seriously and there are no Grid Guys to even things up a bit.
They can still choose to wear whatever they like, they just aren't getting paid anymore for being vapid decorations that serve no purpose.
There absolutely are grid guys!
They do choose their job. But the fact they choose it doesn’t mean it’s not sexist and it’s good that F1 scrapped it. It reinforces the notion that “men do / women decorate”.
Oh and Grid Girls going has nothing to do with feminism. Feminists don’t own Formula 1.