Jennifer Lawrence Credits Katniss Character for Inspiring Her Essay on Gender Pay Inequality

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The Hunger Games
hero, Katniss Everdeen, is even an inspiration to the woman portraying her on the big screen.

During a press conference for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, Jennifer Lawrence revealed that it was her beloved character in the franchise who gave her the guts to pen an essay about her own experience with the gender wage gap within the entertainment industry.


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"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," she told reporters (via Reuters). "So I think it would be impossible to go four years with this character and not be inspired by her."

In October, Lawrence wrote an op-ed in Lena Dunham's Lenny newsletter titled, "Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars?"


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During the Sony hacks last December, the 25-year-old actress found out with the rest of world that her American Hustle salary was significantly less than her male co-stars, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale.

"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. I got mad at myself," Lawrence wrote. "I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn't want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don't need."


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After the release of the essay, Cooper told ET that he fully supports his co-star.

"There's a double standard in the whole world, yeah, for sure. This is just one aspect," Cooper said. "Anytime there's a place where a voice can come out and be outspoken -- something Sienna [Miller] did, or Jennifer -- that's great. ... I think it is making a difference."

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