The Problem With the Jennifer Lawrence’s of the World
Jennifer Lawrence managed to sneak her way into the hearts of many Americans with her down-to-earth persona. One that consists of tripping in public and talking about her love for junk food and alcohol.
I will admit that she had me fooled at one point. I thought to myself, wow, what a cool and “real” actor. However, over the past year or so, it hit me that Jennifer Lawrence is as fake as they come.
My friend, Vivian said it best, “You know what kind of people need to constantly remind you that they are down to earth and relatable? People who aren’t.”
Recently she exposed her true colors by telling a “butt scratching” story on The Graham Norton Show. You can watch the video below.
The whitest story ever told. pic.twitter.com/aZb8RQ9e5a
— 🦋 himbo slice (@MrPooni) December 7, 2016
Not only was the story not funny but JLaw (as they call her) was:
a) Incredibly insensitive to the Hawaiian people and their culture
As BuzzFeed pointed out, “in ancient Hawaii people believed certain stones were sacred for many reasons and often served as physical reminders of the spiritual world.”
b) Disturbing because she genuinely thought her story was funny and cute
HA HA HA! Let’s all laugh at this story that clearly indicates how uncultured, entitled and insensitive I am!
c) Even MORE disturbing because she thought it was hilarious that she nearly killed a staff member
Is the sound guy not important because he’s not an A-list actor? Is he any less of a person because he’s not famous? Or is he indispensable in your eyes, so you don’t care that you nearly killed a human being?
And the cherry on top of it all was her fake apology.
She starts off by calling herself, “Jen.” Stars! They’re just like us! Cool, “Jen” meant no disrespect and she apologizes if you were offended.
Um, who is she trying to kid?! “I apologize if I offended you” is not an apology.
It’s the same as saying, “I’m sorry you felt that way,” but in no way are you genuine about it. You’re just indirectly telling someone to get over it because it wasn’t a big deal. 
The Jennifer Lawrence’s of the World
The problem with the Jennifer Lawrence’s of the world is that when they are called out for being insensitive and culturally ignorant, instead of taking the time to listen and try to change their ways, they refuse to believe they’ve done anything wrong.
We saw it with “Jen’s” non-apology. People like Lawrence are rooted all over our society. They are the ones who refuse to re-evaluate why their actions and words have offended people.
You can’t get a genuine apology from someone who doesn’t believe they did something wrong in the first place.
My only solution is to encourage people not to shut down when they are called out for being problematic.
Try to be open to discourse and attempt to broaden your point of view because disregarding the culture of others makes you a jerk, there’s no sugar-coating it.
Just because you don’t understand the history behind something that is sacred doesn’t mean that what others value and believe is silly or fake.
And more importantly, just because you are not offended doesn’t mean you can invalidate how others feel about the situation. The Love Life Of An Asian Guy brought up an interesting point when he asked why (some) white people “minimize POC cultures and demand that we cherish theirs.”
At the end of the day, it’s all about perspective, something that the Jennifer Lawrence’s of the world seem to be lacking.
Dear Jen,
I fixed it for you. pic.twitter.com/j7dVNQmnty— Tina Ngata (@tinangata) December 10, 2016