Jennifer Lawrence Unsure About Speaking Out on Trump and U.S. Politics: “I Don’t Want To Start Turning People Off To Films And To Art”

Jennifer Lawrence is rethinking how much she wants to say about politics. The actor recently spoke with Lulu Garcia-Navarro on The Interview, a podcast from The New York Times, while promoting her upcoming film Die My Love.

During the conversation, she admitted she’s not sure if speaking out about Donald Trump or U.S. politics is something she should keep doing.

“I don’t really know if I should,” Lawrence said when asked if she plans to comment publicly about the current political climate. She explained that during Trump’s first term, she felt frustrated and overwhelmed. “The first Trump administration was so wild and just how can we let this stand? I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off,” she said.

But now, she believes celebrity opinions don’t change how people vote. “Celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for,” she added. “So then what am I doing? I’m just sharing my opinion on something that’s going to add fuel to a fire that’s ripping the country apart.”

Lawrence said she’s trying to figure out how to balance her role as an artist with her personal beliefs. She explained that she doesn’t want her opinions to turn audiences away from her work. “I want to protect my craft so that you can still get lost in what I’m doing,” she said. “If I can’t say something that’s going to speak to some kind of peace or lowering the temperature, I don’t want to be part of the problem.”

She also pointed out that she feels bad for actors who’ve been rejected by parts of the internet because of their political views. “You watch these actors’ faces who have had incredible careers and then one half of the internet doesn’t want to see their face anymore,” she said. “I get so upset for those people and it feels so wrong.”

Instead of speaking out publicly, Lawrence said she’s now channeling her political beliefs through her work. Her production company is behind films like Bread and Roses, which follows Afghan women living under Taliban rule, and Zurawski v. Texas, a documentary about abortion rights. “I try to express my politics through my work,” she said. “A lot of movies coming out from my production company are expressions of the political landscape and that’s how I feel like I can be helpful.”

When asked if she regretted how outspoken she was in the past, she joked, “Probably? I regret everything I’ve ever done or said. I’m going to take the zip drives out of all of these cameras when I leave.” She added that Trump’s second term feels different because “he said what he was going to do. We knew what he did for four years. He was very clear. And that’s what we chose.”

Lawrence’s new reflections come during a press tour where she’s been more candid than ever about her relationship with fame. She’s previously said she took time away from Hollywood because the public had “gotten sick” of her.

Speaking on The Interview, she said doing media interviews still makes her anxious. “Doing interviews is really scary,” she said. “You finish an interview or you’re gearing up to release a film and you’re putting yourself out there to be picked apart.”

She admitted that she’s become more cautious about what she says. “I’ve also grown up,” she explained. “I’m a lot more nervous about whatever I say publicly. I don’t want to give an interview that’s just a bunch of sound bites. I’m trying to strike that balance.”

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