The Reason Jennifer Lawrence Sobbed When Someone Called Her A Role Model Will Infuriate You

It's been three years since several celebrities' nude photos were leaked by hackers, and now, Jennifer Lawrence speaking out about the way it affected her life. While appearing on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Jennifer Lawrence opened up about the nude photo leak, revealing something surprising in the process: At one point while coping with the leak, she couldn't believe that anyone would still call her a role model. But Lawrence should rest assured that she's setting a great example for the women who look up to her, and that fact only becomes more true based on the other things she said in the interview.

Talking to THR, Lawrence described the leak as "unbelievably violating," and she's right. It's hard to imagine what it means for the entire world to gain access to photos of you that were never meant to be seen unless you've been in that situation, and Lawrence has been deeply changed because of it.

"I feel like I got gang-banged by the f*cking planet — like, there's not one person in the world that is not capable of seeing these intimate photos of me," she said. "You can just be at a barbecue and somebody can just pull them up on their phone. That was a really impossible thing to process."

More than a year later, she had another experience that made her realize how the leak changed her. Lawrence said:

"I think, like, a year and a half ago, somebody said something to me about how I was 'a good role model for girls,' and I had to go into the bathroom and sob because I felt like an impostor — I felt like, 'I can't believe somebody still feels that way after what happened.' It's so many different things to process when you've been violated like that."

But for her fans, it's easy to see that she's definitely not an impostor — especially not because someone stole photos of her — but also not only because of how honest and open she's always been or how successful her career is. It's easy to see all of the ways she's still an excellent woman for others to look up to even in certain things she mentioned while talking to THR.

For example. she spoke about a time when she was asked to lose weight for a movie, and when she refused, she claims she was offered a "fat-sitter" who would move into her apartment make sure she was following her diet. She still refused.

"I took care of everything personally on my own, and trust me, they were handled," Lawrence said. She also went into the way she takes risks by choosing to participate in movies that she's passionate about but that might not be the major hit that the Hunger Games franchise was. Her integrity shows through every facet of her career, and that definitely makes her role model material.

One of the most touching stories Lawrence shared was about the time she first realized that she actually could use her celebrity for good. After meeting a girl on the set of The Hunger Games who had been badly burned and hearing her say that Katniss finally made her proud to also be a girl on fire, everything changed.

Lawrence explained:

"It's so simple and it's something I love doing, but — [celebrity] can actually help people, important people. When I go to the hospital at Christmas to sign posters and visit the children who can't be home for Christmas, it's, like, you know, three hours out of my day, and it's just such a gift that I get to do what I love, and with it, people who really, really matter, you can make them feel better, you know? You can sign something for them and make them feel better, or say hello to them and make them feel better."

And aside from all of those things, the fact that Lawrence kept persevering through a major challenge like having her privacy violated so deeply is so telling of her character. It's not just that she's a role model despite what she went through; she's also a role model because of it. Years later, she is still here, working on projects she cares about while remaining authentic to who she is.

What Lawrence had to face because of the nude photo leak is obviously horrifying, but it doesn't overshadow who she really is and all she has accomplished. She's definitely still a role model — photo hack or not.