Jennifer Lawrence was one of many celebrities targeted by the widespread leak of private photographs in August, and she has finally broken her silence saying, “it wasn’t a scandal, it was a sex crime.”
The actress told Vanity Fair magazine about her disgust in the violation of privacy.
“I was just so afraid. I didn’t know how this would affect my career. Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this. It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It’s my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world.”
The nude photos were reportedly stolen from Lawrence’s iCloud account and published on the website 4chan. Lawrence wasn’t the only celebrity targeted by the photo leak, with a string of around 100 female celebrities, including Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian, Eva Longoria and Rihanna also falling victim to the violation.
24-year-old Lawrence went on to call for a change in the laws and addressed that the people who looked at the photos were also participating in the act of violation:
“It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change. That’s why these Web sites are responsible. Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody’s mind is to make a profit from it. It’s so beyond me. I just can’t imagine being that detached from humanity. I can’t imagine being that thoughtless and careless and so empty inside. Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame. Even people who I know and love say, ‘Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures.’ I don’t want to get mad, but at the same time I’m thinking, I didn’t tell you that you could look at my naked body.”
Lawrence explained that she didn’t write a statement like the other victimized actresses, because she decided that she wasn’t actually sorry for her actions.
“Every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry. I started to write an apology, but I don’t have anything to say I’m sorry for. I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he’s going to look at you.”
The nude photo hack caused a resurfacing of the discussion about the victimisation of women, with celebrities such as Emma Watson and Lena Dunham tweeting about their disillusionment of the ‘scandal’.
Remember, when you look at these pictures you are violating these women again and again. It's not okay.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 1, 2014
Seriously, do not forget that the person who stole these pictures and leaked them is not a hacker: they're a sex offender.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 1, 2014
The "don't take naked pics if you don't want them online" argument is the "she was wearing a short skirt" of the web. Ugh.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 1, 2014
Even worse than seeing women's privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy.
— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) September 1, 2014
Actor Andrew Garfield also spoke out about the hack and the violation.
‘It’s disgusting. ‘I have a right to your naked body or images that you’ve sent to your husband, or lover.’ It’s disgusting. It’s this violent, abusive violation of womanhood — of divine womanhood. It’s violent, and it’s misogynistic, and it’s revolting, and it’s another example of what this distance has enabled us to do—it’s enabled us to be disassociated from each other.”
Reminding us of her down-to-earth, humorous and relatable personality that has made her loved by people everywhere, Lawrence even recalls the moment when she had to break the news to her father.
“When I have to make that phone call to my dad and tell him what’s happened … I don’t care how much money I get for The Hunger Games. I promise you, anybody given the choice of that kind of money or having to make a phone call to tell your dad that something like that has happened, it’s not worth it. Fortunately, he was playing golf, so he was in a good mood.”
We need to see an improvement in the laws of sex crime, which need to be adjusted to suit the technologically advanced society that we live in so we can prevent and punish similar violations in the future. Lets hope Lawrence’s and other celebrities addressing of the incident helps to stop violation of not just celebrities privacy, but women everywhere.