Fall once at the Oscars and the public finds it charming. Fall twice? That's all it takes to launch Stumblegate, a conspiracy theory that figures it-girl Jennifer Lawrence strategically plans such faux falls just for the payoff in the form of good press. But the not-so-surefooted star wants to set the record straight about her tendency to tumble.
“I’m trying to do the right thing, waving to fans, trying to be nice, and there’s a traffic cone," she explained to Marie Claire about her last Academy Awards accident. "The second I hit it, I was laughing, but on the inside I was like, ‘You’re (expletive). They’re totally going to think this is an act ...'"
That's because just one year earlier, the "American Hustle" star tripped on her gown as she approached the Oscars stage to accept the best actress honor for her work in "Silver Linings Playbook." The coincidence even left one of her big-screen pals questioning the authenticity of her latest misstep.
“You know, I’m starting to wonder if this is a bit of an act,” Jared Leto told Access Hollywood's Billy Bush.
(Bush later insisted Leto's musing was just a friendly joke.)
As for Lawrence, she wants everyone to know that her flawed footwork is the real deal. Besides, if it wasn’t, as an award-winning actress, she'd do a better job of faking it.
"Trust me, if I was going to plan it, I would have done it at the Golden Globes or the SAGs," she told Marie Claire. "I would have never done it at two Oscars in a row. I watch 'Homeland' — I’m craftier than that!”
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Jennifer Lawrence
Ultimately, Lawrence said she's just doing her best out there, and if backlash is going to happen, she can't stop it.
"Nobody can stay beloved forever," she said. "I never believed it, the whole time. I was like, just wait: People are going to get sick of me. My picture is everywhere, my interviews are everywhere; I'm way too annoying because I get on red carpets and I'm really hyper, most likely because I've been drinking, and I can't not photo-bomb somebody if it's a good opportunity. But it's something I always tell myself: 'You need to calm the (expletive) down. You don't want to constantly be a GIF.'"
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