Sexism in Hollywood angers Jennifer Lawrence

J-Law has spoken out about being paid less than her male co-stars in Lena Dunham's newsletter, Lenny.

J-Law speaks out about sexism in Hollywood.

Jennifer Lawrence has penned a blunt essay expressing anger at being paid less than her male co-stars.

The piece, featured in Lena Dunham's newsletter Lenny, delves into the Sony Pictures leak where hacked emails revealed she and Amy Adams got a far smaller pay packet than their American Hustle co-stars.

It was the first she had heard of the inequality. "I didn't get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early," she said.

The Hunger Games actress said she had been "ever-so-slightly quiet" on feminist issues
but felt this was the perfect outlet.

Lawrence revealed a fear of appearing 'difficult' or 'spoiled' influenced her decision to close the deal without a fight.

"I would be lying if I didn't say there was an element of wanting to be liked...

"At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realised every man I was working with definitely didn't worry about being difficult' or 'spoiled'."

The Oscar-winning actress added that male colleagues seemed annoyed when she recently shared her opinion about sexism in the industry.

"I'm over trying to find the 'adorable' way to state my opinion," she wrote.

"I don't think I've ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard. It's just heard."

She was also offended that one of the Sony emails labelled fellow movie star Angelina Jolie as a 'spoiled brat'.

"For some reason, I just can't picture someone saying that about a man."

Lawrence, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2012 comedy Silver Linings Playbook, is one of Hollywood's youngest stars at age 25.

She's also one of its highest earners topping Forbes magazine's 2015 list of best-paid actresses at $52 million dollars - still $30 million short of Robert Downey Jr's $80 million which has topped the list for three years straight.

Hollywood stalwart Meryl Streep shared the same sentiment speaking out about sexism in the film industry, saying she still received far less than male cohorts.

The conversation arose in an interview with the BBC ahead of a London premiere of her film, Suffragette, about a campaign in support of women's voting rights in the UK.

It launched London Film Festival which ran a global symposium on gender in the media with Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis.

Here Davis called for more women on screen and more challenging female roles in TV and film.

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- nzherald.co.nz