The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence clarified her statement which led to a slew of backlash on social media. 

In the Actor on Actors interview conducted by Variety, Lawrence discussed various topics with fellow actor Viola Davis, including motherhood, press tours and the contentious issue of female action leads in Hollywood. 

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“I remember when I was doing Hunger Games, nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie, because it wouldn’t work, we were told. Girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead,” said Lawrence. The statement was interpreted as the star claiming to have been one of the first actors to have broken this mold. 

This particular statement received immense backlash, with people trolling the actor on social media. While some comments made by users were highly negative and overtly critical of Lawrence, others clarified that the essence of her comment stands true, even though the statement of her being the first female lead in an action film is not correct, citing examples of Sigourney Weaver in Aliens and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, which were introduced much before The Hunger Games, in which Lawrence starred as Katniss Everdeen. 

The Silver Lining actor talked to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, clarifying her statement that she made whilst the interview was going, saying, “That’s certainly not what I meant to say at all. I know that I am not the only woman who has ever led an action film. What I meant to emphasize was how good it feels. And I meant that with Viola — to blow past these old myths that you hear about … about the chatter that you would hear around that kind of thing. But it was my blunder and it came out wrong. I had nerves talking to a living legend.”

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“One time I was quoted saying that Donald Trump was responsible for hurricanes. I felt that one was ridiculous, that it was so stupid I didn’t need to comment. But this one, I was like, ‘I think I want to clarify,” the actor concluded. 

Lawrence is currently promoting her film Causeway, available for streaming at A24/Apple.