Jennifer Lawrence has addressed for the first time the naked photos which were hacked and shared on 4Chan in August. In her cover interview in Vanity Fair the actress said of the large-scale hack: "It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting." She also explains why she decided not to release a statement because “every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry."
On the leak...
“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. 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.”
On why she didn't release a statement...
“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.”
On moving on...
“Time does heal, you know. I’m not crying about it anymore. I can’t be angry anymore. I can’t have my happiness rest on these people being caught, because they might not be. I need to just find my own peace.”
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On other websites that published the images...
“You have a choice. You don’t have to be a person who spreads negativity and lies for a living. You can do something good. You can be good. Let’s just make that choice and—it feels better.”
Her message to anyone that looked at the pictures...
“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.”
On telling her Dad about the leak...
“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,” she says. “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.” She allows herself to joke a little about that terrible moment: “Fortunately, he was playing golf, so he was in a good mood.”
The piece entitled 'Both Huntress and Prey' is accompanied by a sizzling cover shoot by Patrick Demarchelier, where she poses in a pool (drowning in diamonds) with a bird perched on her wrist.
Visit Vanity Fair for more. The issue will hit newsstands on October 14th