As discussion continues to rage over the entertainment industry's treatment of women, Jennifer Lawrence has added her voice to the conversation, and gave an insight into the precarious nature of working in Hollywood.
During her speech at ELLE's Women in Hollywood event last night, the 27-year-old star recalls being body-shamed by both male and female production members, and admits that her desire for a successful career often meant she allowed herself to be treated poorly.
In one example, Jennifer highlighted how rampant misogyny is in the industry when a male producer attempted to placate her over her supposed weight issues by calling her 'perfectly f*ckable'.
"One girl before me had already been fired for not losing enough weight fast enough," Jennifer said of an unnamed movie production.
"And, during this time, a female producer had me do a nude lineup with about five women who were much, much thinner than me. And we all stood side-by-side with only paste-ons covering our privates. After that degrading and humiliating lineup, the female producer told me I should use the naked photos of myself as inspiration for my diet."
Appalled by the pressure being placed on her to shed weight, Jennifer goes onto explain that she approached a male producer to discuss the matter only to be further degraded under the guise of flattery.
"I asked to speak to a producer about the unrealistic diet regime and he responded by telling me he didn't know why everyone thought I was so fat, he thought I was 'perfectly 'f*ckable'," Jennifer remembers.
Torn between wanting to establish a career and defend herself against prevailing misogyny, Jennifer found herself in a supremely difficult position – something she went on to address during her speech.
"I couldn't have gotten a producer or a director or a studio head fired. I let myself be treated a certain way because I felt like I had to for my career," she admitted.
It seems her supposed attitude on the set of that film cast a long shadow as the actress recalls being criticised in its aftermath, saying: "I was young and walking that fine line of sticking up for myself without being called difficult, which they did call me, but I believe the word they used was "nightmare."
"I didn't want to be a whistleblower. I didn't want these embarrassing stories talked about in a magazine. I just wanted a career," she told the audience.
Jennifer's story is, unfortunately, just one of dozens emerging from Holylwood in recent weeks.
