Jennifer Lawrence’s ‘Red Sparrow’ Nudity Empowered Her After Photo Hack: ‘It’s My Body, It’s My Art, and It’s My Choice’

Jennifer Lawrence‘s latest film “Red Sparrow” features the Oscar winner’s most mature role to date, and it ended up being far more important for her personal life than nearly any other film. Lawrence revealed in a new “60 Minutes” interview that “Red Sparrow” allowed her the chance to reclaim her sexual empowerment following a 2014 phone hack. Lawrence was the victim of a hack that stole private nude photos of her and leaked them to the internet. The actress called the hack a “sex crime” at the time.

“I realized there’s a difference between consent and not. I showed up for the first day and I did it and I felt empowered,” Lawrence says of performing nude scenes in “Red Sparrow.” “I feel like something that was taken from me, I got back. It’s my body, it’s my art, and it’s my choice. And if you don’t like boobs, you should not go see ‘Red Sparrow.'”

Lawrence was hesitant to take on sexually-driven roles after the photo hack but “Red Sparrow” finally changed her mindset. In the film, Lawrence plays an injured Russian ballerina who is forced to become a spy that specializes in sexual manipulation.

Back in 2014, Lawrence reacted to the photo hack in an interview with Vanity Fair and said that she had nothing to apologize for after nude photos of her were stolen.

“Anyone who looked at those photos, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense,” she said. “You should cower with shame. Even people who I know and love say, ‘Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures.’ I don’t want to get mad, but at the same time I’m thinking, I didn’t tell you that you could look at my naked body.”

“Red Sparrow” opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, March 2.