Fighting Body Image Hate: 4 Unforgettable Moments From Yahoo’s Chat With Jennifer Lawrence
As usual, Jennifer Lawrence was her goofy, earthy self today. But this time, the display of pure, unfiltered JLaw took place at our own Yahoo headquarters. On Wednesday, Lawrence sat down with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer to answer fan questions in a live Tumblr chat. As ever, the 23-year-old “Hunger Games” star delighted fans with her fresh and unguarded responses, but also offering heartfelt advice to young people struggling against today’s overwhelming media messages.
Below are four of her best moments from the Silicon Valley, California, event.
1. Body Image Rebel Yell: ‘Stop Calling Each Other Fat.’
You tell ‘em, Jen! “Screw those people,” she responded to a request for advice on body image criticism. “It’s something everyone experiences. I experienced it in school before,” she shared. “If you don’t look like an airbrushed model… You have to look past it. You look how you look. What are you going to do?” Lawrence pointed to “shows like ‘Fashion Police,’” arguing that such media programming teaches young people to judge others harshly. “They put values in all things that are wrong and that it’s okay to point at people and [call] them ugly and fat. Stop calling each other fat. It’s disappointing that the media keeps it alive and fuels that fire. It is something that really bothers me because I love to eat.”
2. For the Love of JT! … and Other Teen Crushes.
"I was getting so overwhelmed with hormones that I almost threw up," Lawrence revealed when asked who was her teen crush. The answer she revealed: Justin Timberlake. She was quick, however, to qualify the admission: "But ’90s Justin Timberlake.” And yeah, she said she nearly lost her lunch in a fan frenzy when she went shopping for his music, starting her story with, “I remember when I bought the ‘N Sync CD.” Lawrence then admitted to even more teen crushes: “Early” Kirk Cameron and the Lawrence brothers (Joey, Matt and Andrew - no relation to Jennifer). “Anybody remember ‘Boy Meets World’?”
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3. Two Goofy Gowns.
When a fan asked Lawrence which dress was worse to walk in: Her 2013 Oscar gown or Katniss’s “Catching Fire” wedding dress, Lawrence admitted, “I fell in both.” Ha! In spite of the Oscar dress stumble seen around the world, she said it actually wasn’t the worst. “My wedding dress was a lot more uncomfortable,” she said. “That silver thing scratches. If you ever want to get that dress … don’t get that dress.”
4. It’s Bill Clinton, Not Gill Clinton!
When asked what PR moments she wished she could take back, the answers poured out fast from the actress, known for her public displays of goofiness. “I did call Bill Clinton ‘Gill Clinton’ when I was presenting,” she said of a past event snafu. Other moments she’d like to erase: Forgetting to thank her director in an acceptance speech, “And falling on my face!” She also mentioned when she exclaimed “I beat Meryl Streep” in her Golden Globes acceptance speech, she had thought people would get that she was joking (and referencing “First Wives Club”) but was mortified to find they thought she actually was celebrating vanquishing the great actress. “It was a joke!” she said.
