Jennifer Lawrence had the career trajectory that many aspiring actresses would kill to have. While she started as a TV supporting character on The Bill Engvall Show, Lawrence became A-list material when she starred in Winter’s Bone, The Hunger Games movies and of course, Silver Linings Playbook (the film that won her an Oscar). However, around that same time claims were made that the 85th Academy Award honoree’s fall before her speech was “fake.” Now, Lawrence is clearing the air about all of that.
Interestingly, Lawrence was in the position to receive that Oscar in the first place because she convinced David O. Russell she was perfect for Silver Linings Playbook by imitating the spider she killed during their Zoom meeting. I’m not sure if anyone could’ve predicted the backlash she’d face for her eventual award speech. During an interview with The New York Times, Lawrence explained that at that time, she had a public persona that she doesn’t carry with her now at 35:
Now that I’m in my 30s and a mom, I can see how young I was. When I meet a 23-year-old now, they’re children. As horrified as I am at some things — like an old interview or something, so cringe — I get it. I was young and nervous and defensive and awkward. I remember when I was nominated for ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ somebody was like: ‘Everybody loves you! What does that feel like?’ I was like: It feels precarious. It’s going to come down. That’s just the nature of things.
It’s understandable to feel a tad embarrassed at your younger self. Many people go through that, as they may feel they would handle certain situations differently as grown adults compared to when they were younger. Ultimately, people live and learn.
When it comes to Jennifer Lawrence, though, there are still plenty of fans who have no complaints about the humor and honesty she’d exude in her old interviews. Those soundbites honestly gave the public a glimpse of her amiable, down-to-earth personality.
When Jennifer Lawrence was getting Oscar recognition, she did have some clumsy moments. She continued to talk about how she fell not once, but twice at two consecutive Oscars, with fears people would think she’s faking:
And then I fell getting my Oscar, and the next year I was waving to fans and I tripped on a cone and I remember being like: ‘[Expletive] , that’s it. Nobody’s gonna believe that I fell two years in a row.’
While Lawrence may be a very convincing actress, it doesn’t mean that she would fake a fall. After the American Hustle star tripped while walking up the stairs to receive her Best Actress trophy, she hilariously said in her speech that everyone in the crowd was standing up for her because of her little slip-and-fall. Then, as coincidence had it, she tripped the next year on the Oscars red carpet when she walked in the path of an orange cone.
After Lawrence lost her footing two years in a row, her assumptions were correct that people would think her stumbles were all an act. However, the Causeway actress said those rumors couldn’t be further from the truth:
Yeah. I didn’t. But everybody thought that meant everything that I did was fake and it was all a shtick. This is how it felt to me. That I got found out as this fraud.
It honestly seems somewhat wild to assume the starlet would fall on purpose to keep up a persona. Personally, I could see more than a few people tripping on their way up that stage due to nerves or another reason. I know I would be worried if I had to wear heels and attempt climbing up the stairs in them.
And don’t think the talented actress doesn’t feel strongly about those who say her falls were “fake.” In fact, Lawrence said in 2020 that the accusations hit a nerve when CNN’s Anderson Cooper said three days after the Oscars that the Joy actress “faked the fall.” But she confronted him at a Christmas party, telling him her fall actually came from having to walk up the stairs in a ball gown. He sent her apologies, and the two ended up being on good terms after.
Jennifer Lawrence may play convincing roles in movies, but the falls she took during real-life Oscar events were very real by the sound of it. However, we have to give the award-winning actress props for handling these awkward moments with humor and grace. Continue to see the mega-talented star’s work by way of her her 2025 movie release, Die My Love, which opens in theaters on November 7th.
