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Jennifer Lawrence Exits ‘The Rosie Project’ After Honest Essay About Salary Disparity In Hollywood

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 10:34 PST, Oct 14, 2015

It’s been a busy week for actress Jennifer Lawrence. On Tuesday, Lawrence released an essay on Lena Dunham’s brand new feminist blog Lenny, about the disparity in salary in Hollywood among woman and men. Last year, during Sony’s hacks it was revealed, surprising absolutely no one, that Lawrence was paid significantly less money than all of her male co-stars in the film American Hustle. This negotiation was made at the height of her stardom and power in Hollywood.

It’s not surprising because as a whole, women aren’t equally paid in fields outside of Hollywood. Taking that into consideration, Lawrence decided to write an honest essay about what it might take to change how women are treated in the industry as it relates to equal pay.

In the piece she said, “When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with d***s, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need.”

In her essay, she said that she gave up early because she didn’t want to be seen as a brat, and instead wanted to be liked. Her male counterparts weren’t at all concerned about whether they were liked or not when they were negotiating — this is because women are conditioned to be silent and to hold their opinions to themselves in favor of being liked.

“I’m over trying to the find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable. F–k that. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard. It’s just heard.”

When an actress such as Lawrence, who’s known for being brassy in the public, admits that she falls into these traps, especially where it counts, it’s a huge deal.

Lawrence isn’t alone in questioning the double standards called upon women in Hollywood. In fact, now more than ever, actresses like Maggie Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, and Jessica Chastain have all stepped up to talk about similar issues plaguing gender in Hollywood. After Lawrence’s open essay hit the web, many of her peers in the business stood behind her — to name a few co-star Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, and Emma Watson sounded off in support of Jennifer.

Although it’s unrelated, Jennifer Lawrence’s next professional move made big news, and it’s probably due to the fact that it’s on the heels of such an honest essay. According to the Wrap, Lawrence had dropped out of Sony’s The Rosie Project. This is the same studio that paid her less than her male co-stars for American Hustle, so although it’s just a speculation, perhaps negotiations broke down in a similar fashion, and Lawrence didn’t want to go down that road again? Or maybe it’s due to scheduling, which is the official reason given.

That said, this means The Rosie Project is very much up in the air. Boyhood’s Richard Linklater was attached to direct the film, but when Tuesday’s news hit the trades he left the project. It’s said that the studio still feels as though this is their top priority despite losing its star and director, and that they will find others to replace both Lawrence and Linklater. 500 Days of Summer writers Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber wrote the script. Lawrence was in talks to star in the film since July.

The Rosie Project is the story about, “a socially inept genetics professor who comes up with a scientifically sound survey to find the perfect mate. His plans go awry when he meets Rosie Jarman, who in her whirlwind manner, possesses all the opposite qualities he should be looking for.”

[Photo Kevin Winter / Getty Images]

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