The dark side of Hollywood: Jennifer Lawrence was once forced to perform degrading “nude line-up”
Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence once revealed damning information about covert casting practices in the movie industry that left her traumatised. The American Hustle actor revealed that she was once forced to perform in a “nude line-up” during an audition.
Recalling her pre-fame period as she was trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood, Lawrence shed light on a particularly “degrading” audition back in 2017. Since then, she has become a household name. The now 33-year-old star believes that it is only because of her prominent position in the industry that she is now shielded from exploitation. This casts a damning light on the practices that still prevail in the lower rungs of Hollywood.
Delving back into her past, Lawrence revealed at Elle’s Women in Hollywood event that she was “told by producers of a film to lose 15 pounds in two weeks”. This dangerous demand came after she was placed in a very vulnerable position during an audition. “During this time, a female producer had me do a nude line-up with about five women who were much, much, thinner than me,” she explained. “We all stood side by side with only tape on covering our privates.”
This experience was then photographed, with the apparent rationale being that the women could then use the images as “inspiration” for the dieting that they then had to embark upon for the role. She added that one girl present during the audition phases was fired and the reason cited by producers was that she had not lost the weight fast enough.
The means of control throughout this process prayed upon the perilous position everyone’s career is in as they start out in Hollywood. It was recently revealed that only 2% of actors make a living solely from the profession. This competitiveness is heightened even further in Hollywood. Thus, Lawrence and her fellow hopefuls refrained from becoming “whistleblowers” on this degrading practice because they thought it would hamper their livelihood to speak out.
While guidelines attempt to safeguard against this by recommending that there shouldn’t be any intimacy or nudity during auditions, this is not enforced. Intimacy coordinators have been seen as a great stride forward on Hollywood sets, but they are not employed during the audition phase when actors are perhaps even more vulnerable and prone to exploitation.
Moreover, when we spoke to Haruka Kurado, a professional intimacy coordinator, she revealed that there is often still resistance to the guidelines and getting signed agreements remains challenging. This, therefore, blurs the lines of what is practicable and agreed upon, further heightening the uncertainty over their own autonomy that many actors face when placed in vulnerable positions.
Thus, it is perhaps unsurprising that Lawrence’s experience is not an isolated incident. Since then, Skins and Maze Runner star Kaya Scodelario slammed “naked auditions” and revealed that she once lost out on a major role after refusing to strip for a leading director. Thankfully, she said on this occasion, her agent was present and intervened, but said that the experience “terrified” her, and without the support of her agent, it could’ve been far more troubling.
Scodelario’s comments arrived as several stories of sexual misconduct in the film industry’s audition phases unfurled. However, these accusations have all since fallen out of the forefront of public discussion and are subject to legal counterclaims. This further illuminates the troubling predicament that actors face while simply trying to progress their careers. We are now almost a decade on from Lawrence’s remarks, and nothing has been legally passed to clear up the ambiguity that has continued to allow exploitation to thrive.
As Hollywood law firm Edwards Henderson states: “Hollywood has a complicated history steeped in scandal, partly because of one big problem: a power imbalance. A disturbing 94 percent of women have experienced some form of sexual assault during their Hollywood careers, with potentially many cases having remained unreported.”
They add: “Sexual harassment and abuse in such cases often involve an influential person, like a famous producer or a successful actor, taking advantage of new talent who is looking for their ‘big break’.”
As industry professionals have stated, this is an endemic problem in the film industry. Throughout its history, a ‘casting couch’ culture has become ingrained. When exploitation is an accepted norm, it becomes harder for those without great power to challenge it, further exacerbating the issue. It sets a precedence akin to ‘this is how it is’. Psychological and sociological reports have all cited that even with growing movements like MeToo, this ingrained suppression makes the issue hard to overcome and report.
As Marilyn Monroe, who was often forced to conduct auditions ‘in bed’, proclaimed more than half a century ago regarding exploitative producers: “I met them all. Some were vicious and crooked. But … you saw Hollywood with their eyes — an overcrowded brothel, a merry-go-round with beds for horses.” While that resigned sense of acceptance may have shifted, Lawrence’s recollection of “degrading” auditions serves to highlight the fact that little has changed, and even the movements we do see are retrospective call-outs rather than active prevention.
