Jennifer Lawrence Sparks Backlash Due To ‘Butt Scratching’ Story, Apologizes For Offending Hawaiians
Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt have been making the promotional rounds for their film Passengers and have been enjoying their time pranking one another and sharing stories about their experiences filming.
Of course Jen, who is known for her silly humor, not to mention her incredible talent onscreen, shared a story while on The Graham Norton Show last week about shooting a movie in Hawaii. The star noted that she was wearing a wetsuit and this led her to scratch her behind on a nearby rock. However, the rock she spoke of and scratched her rear on was not just any rock. It was a rock that is considered sacred to the locals.
The star shared how by scratching herself on the sacred rock, she wound up dislodging the stone and sent it tumbling down to where a number of crew members were, and adds that it almost hit one of them and could have easily killed somebody. Entertainment Weekly recounts Lawrence’s telling of the story.
“There were sacred rocks,” Lawrence told Norton. “I don’t know. They were ancestors. Who knows? But you’re not supposed to sit on them because you’re not supposed to expose your genitalia to them. I, however, was in a wetsuit for this whole shoot, and oh my god, they were so good for butt-itching.”
Jennifer Lawrence responds to backlash for accidentally destroying a sacred site https://t.co/lHj91uNWkT pic.twitter.com/eZY6TpztyV
— Cosmopolitan (@Cosmopolitan) December 9, 2016
Global News relays why Hawaiian locals are not amused with Lawrence’s story and many called on Lawrence to apologize for treating something that is sacred to them like a joke.
“Not only is what she describes incredibly disrespectful of Hawaiian spiritual beliefs, tweeters pointed out, but apparently unknown to The Hunger Games star is ‘Pele’s Curse,’ the nickname for the bad luck that Hawaiians believe will befall anyone who removes one of the sacred black stones from the land upon which it rests.”
A number of negative tweets went out about Lawrence, and the question is now as to whether this goofy story that wound up offending Hawaiian locals will hurt box office sales for Passengers. The film is set to debut in theaters on December 21.
On Friday, after becoming aware of the backlash to her story, Jennifer Lawrence spoke about her intentions in relaying the account. Entertainment Weekly makes note of Lawrence’s response to the outrage demonstrated by the Hawaiian people who took offense to the story.
“I meant absolutely no disrespect to the Hawaiian people,” Lawrence said in a statement posted to her Facebook page. “I really thought that I was being self-deprecating about the fact that I was ‘the curse,’ but I understand the way it was perceived was not funny, and I apologize if I offended anyone.”
Jennifer Lawrence is known for her wit and her goofy humor that usually involves her sharing stories about herself that others would find embarrassing to share. Clearly Lawrence hit a nerve and crossed a line with this account and will likely think twice in the future before sharing stories that occur on set.
Jennifer Lawrence Writes on Trump’s Win –”Don’t Be Afraid, Be Loud!”: https://t.co/31YYv6iCRl pic.twitter.com/wC9phtHNyD
— World of Wonder (@WorldOfWonder) November 29, 2016
Although Lawrence has a great sense of humor, she also has a passion for advocacy on various issues, such as women’s rights, and Lawrence has not been shy in regard to sharing her view about the recent election that resulted in Donald Trump’s victory. The Oscar winner encouraged those who are angered by his victory to let rage move them to act. As the Independent reminds, in response to the victory of Trump, Lawrence encouraged women who feel that no matter how hard they work there will always be a “glass ceiling” to have hope and work for a different future.
[Feature Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
