Entertainment

J. Law Shouldn't Have to Worry About This

by Jenny Jaffe

Celebrities don't come much more charming than Jennifer Lawrence. Even when she's talking about the public eventually getting sick of her, all we can think about is how we can't imagine another red carpet without J-Law and her adorable, relatable antics. Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult are so cute, they literally make me want to vomit, and so help me if you tell me that I just misused 'literally' I will literally direct that vomit at you. The point is, Jennifer Lawrence is a national treasure and that's why one excerpt from her forthcoming Marie Claire interview really caught my attention- check out what Ms. Lawrence has to say about whether or not fame has changed her:

"I'm a lot more closed off and frankly probably rude. I mean, I'm from Kentucky. I used to be very personable and make eye contact and smile at people, and now all I do is look down. When I'm at dinner and one person after another keeps interrupting to take pictures, it's like, ‘I can't live like this.'"

FIrst of all, if this is what "rude and closed off" J-Law is like, then I can't even imagine what a lovely open book she must have been growing up! But secondly, more disturbingly, why should she feel like she is only safe when she is looking down? If you open any gossip magazine currently on newsstands, I guarantee you will find at least one picture of Jennifer Lawrence going about her day-to-day life, dressed for comfort and uninterested, at least in that moment, in being a public figure. Can you imagine if people were constantly snapping your photo at inopportune moments? You'd become a bit more "rude and closed off", too. She's right, she can't live like this, no one can. And no one should have to.

This isn't Ms. Lawrence's first time mentioning the stress of public life in an interview- last year in her Vogue interview, the Oscar winner had this disturbing revelation:

If I were just your average 23-year-old girl, and I called the police to say that there were strange men sleeping on my lawn and following me to Starbucks, they would leap into action. But because I am a famous person, well, sorry, ma’am, there’s nothing we can do. It makes no sense.

I understand that dealing with paparazzi is just part of the job description when it comes to being a celebrity, but it seems like there should be at least a bit of legislation protecting the privacy of celebrities, or it should be understood that celebrity photographers are limited to photoshoots and red carpet events- besides, wouldn't you rather see what J-Law is wearing to the Golden Globes or the grocery store?

Jennifer Lawrence isn't the first celebrity to lament how being constantly on display can change a person: A-listers from Justin Bieber to Jennifer Aniston to Sarah Jessica Parker have lashed out against the invasions of privacy they are subject to every day, invasions which, as J-Law eloquently points out, would be criminal under any other circumstances. But perhaps if even the "spirit animal" of every twentysomething in America feels like she has to live in fear, the world will stand up and take notice.