--- description: The actress said playing Katniss Everdeen motivated her to speak up title: Jennifer Lawrence: Playing Hunger Games' Katniss Inspired Me to Fight Pay Gap image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt324be47086e071e8/69886f87cf40a85b85c407d3/jennifer-lawrence.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jennifer Lawrence: Playing _Hunger Games'_ Katniss Inspired Me to Fight Pay Gap  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 4, 2015 3:34 PM CUT  Jennifer Lawrence at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, CA on October 31. Jennifer Lawrence at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, CA on October 31.Sthanlee B. Mirador—Sipa USA  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 4, 2015 3:34 PM CUT Jennifer Lawrence says playing _The Hunger Games_ heroine Katniss Everdeen [inspired her to speak up](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/03/us-film-hungergames-idUSKCN0SS1R920151103#LkkCU05E3BOvm4l6.97 "undefined") about the gender pay gap in Hollywood. Last month [in an essay for Lena Dunham’s Lenny newsletter](http://us11.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a5b04a26aae05a24bc4efb63e&id=64e6f35176&e=1ba99d671e#wage "undefined"), Lawrence opened up about how she was paid less than her male _American Hustle_ co-stars. “When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony,” she wrote. “I got mad at myself…I didn’t want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.'” The day before the world premiere of the franchise’s final installment, _The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2_, Lawrence told reporters in Berlin that her character influenced her essay, Reuters reports. “I don’t see how I couldn’t be inspired by this character, I mean I was so inspired by her when I read the books, it’s the reason I wanted to play her,” Lawrence said. “So I think it would be impossible to go four years with this character and not be inspired by her.” \[[_Reuters\]_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/03/us-film-hungergames-idUSKCN0SS1R920151103#LkkCU05E3BOvm4l6.97 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4099494/jennifer-lawrence-gender-pay-gap-katniss-hunger-games/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4099494/jennifer-lawrence-gender-pay-gap-katniss-hunger-games/"},"headline":"Jennifer Lawrence: Playing Hunger Games' Katniss Inspired Me to Fight Pay Gap","datePublished":"2015-11-04T15:34:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:19:50.644Z","description":"The actress said playing Katniss Everdeen motivated her to speak up","url":"https://time.com/4099494/jennifer-lawrence-gender-pay-gap-katniss-hunger-games/","keywords":["celebrities","movies","Hunger Games","Jennifer Lawrence"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt324be47086e071e8/69886f87cf40a85b85c407d3/jennifer-lawrence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt324be47086e071e8/69886f87cf40a85b85c407d3/jennifer-lawrence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CA: Lionsgate's \"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2\" Hand And Footprint Ceremony","caption":"Jennifer Lawrence from 'The Hunger Games'","creditText":"Sthanlee B. Mirador—Sipa USA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4099494/jennifer-lawrence-gender-pay-gap-katniss-hunger-games/","name":"Jennifer Lawrence: Playing Hunger Games' Katniss Inspired Me to Fight Pay Gap"}}]}] ```