It’s no secret that Jennifer Lawrence isn’t a fan of Donald Trump; however, the actress has a very real understanding of how her political views can affect her paycheck.
“I’ve always thought that it was a good idea to stay out of politics,” she admits in the March cover story for Vanity Fair. “Twenty-five percent of America identifies as liberal, and I need more than 25 percent of America to go see my movies. It’s not wise, career-speaking, to talk about politics. When Donald Trump got sworn into office, that f***ing changed.”
Despite realizing the delicate relationship between Hollywood and politics, the Kentucky native openly supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
“If I’m thinking something, I’ve made it very clear I’m going to talk about it,” Lawrence, 27, adds. “My family obviously hates every time I talk about politics because it’s hard to see your kid get criticized and they live in Kentucky, where nobody is really liking what I’m saying.”
It’s because of her relationship to her hometown of Louisville that she understands why President Trump ultimately defeated Clinton. (Kentucky was one of the first states he won in 2016.)
“[Here’s] a big powerful man in a nice suit, pointing at you and going, ‘I’m going to make you rich.’ It’s so appealing,” she says. “The Democrats made a huge mistake by chastising the Trump supporters, and that was disgusting to me. Of course they’re not going to vote for Hillary Clinton; they’re going to vote for Donald Trump. You laughed at them when their plight is very real.”
Still, the Red Sparrow star stands by her decision to support Clinton, scoffing at the criticism that the former secretary of state was a “career politician.”
“I’m like, ‘I want a career politician!’” she states. “I wouldn’t hire an assistant if they didn’t have experience; we’re talking about the president of the f***ing United States!”
Lawrence — who is one of the highest-paid actresses in the world — took many by surprise when she announced last week that she was taking a year off from acting to focus on activism. However, a rep for the actress clarified that she will return to work when one of her seven projects in development is ready to go.
In the meantime, the Hunger Games star is going to be busy working with Represent.Us. Lawrence is on the board of the bipartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to fight corruption in politics.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with partisan [politics],” she told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s just anti-corruption and stuff trying to pass state-by-state laws that can help prevent corruption, fix our democracy.”
Lawrence said she’s “trying to get young people engaged politically on a local level.”
