The New York Times has been teasing us with excerpts from their interview with Jennifer Lawrence for a while now, but the full thing has been published and it’s pretty great. It’s honest, funny, and really charming, because it’s JLaw, so of course it is. While I wouldn’t say I’m gaga over her like a lot of people seem to be, I think she’s really talented and seems pretty down-to-earth and immensely likeable, so that’s enough for me.
It’s not enough for some people, though, and Jennifer is all too aware of the horrors of what people are saying about her on the Internet, because she can’t help Googling herself from time to time… and what she finds terrifies her.
How have you personally changed since the first “Hunger Games”?
I don’t feel like I’m being dragged by anything anymore. I feel more in control. I’m calmer. I know that there’s no point to feeling anxious all day, so I try not to. I’m still scared, but it’s about different things. Now, I worry about — [Trails off and shifts a bit uncomfortably on the sofa.] O.K., get ahold of yourself, Jennifer. This is not therapy.
Oh, but it is. Just a different kind.
You want to know how I’ve changed? I’m so scared to say anything now. I can see every negative way that people can take it, and I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining. “Oh, she’s so conceited now. Oh, she’s so jaded now.” It probably comes from Googling myself. If it were up to me, I would not talk. I would just act.
You Google yourself? You must promise to never, ever do that again.
You try being 22, having a period and staying away from Google. I once Googled ‘Jennifer Lawrence Ugly.’ [Laughs] Do I sound bitchy?
Not at all. You sound like a real person.
I can’t think of a more wasteful use of my time than to worry about this. Why do I care what people think? But I do. I just can’t pretend I don’t care. I get really insecure about it. The world makes an opinion of you without ever meeting you. That worry should not bother me, but it does. It bothers me. [Takes a sip of water.]
I’m going to leave here and think, Oh God, why couldn’t I just have been cool and confident?
Ha. Well, at least she’s being real. I hate when famous people are like, “It doesn’t even get to me! Who cares?” because most human beings care. As much as we know other people’s opinions don’t affect our lives and as easy as it is for regular people like you and me to not give a shit, being famous with MILLIONS of people ragging on every single aspect of you 24/7 has gotta be tough. Of course, the best way to avoid that is to not read it/look at it/etc, but who among us can resist that temptation?
Would you Google yourself if you were famous? I don’t think I couldn’t NOT.