Jennifer Lawrence is known for her filter-free honesty, but her latest revelation has fans across the internet doing a double take.
The -year-old superstar is opening up about why she didn’t end up playing late actress Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—a role that ultimately went to Margot Robbie and catapulted her to new heights of superstardom.
During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Lawrence got candid about her history with the legendary director, and the reason she missed out on the role is as “stunning” as it is heartbreaking.
Host Josh Horowitz kicked off the conversation by noting that Tarantino has been “chasing” Lawrence for years, even writing the role of Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight specifically for her.
Lawrence was blunt about that missed opportunity, admitting, “I turned it down. I should not have done [that].”
But when the topic shifted to the s-set Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the conversation took a sharper turn toward the dark side of internet culture.
Lawrence recalled that while Tarantino was interested in her for the part of Sharon Tate, a wave of “toxic” online commentary may have influenced the outcome.
“He did [want me], and then everybody was like, ‘She’s not pretty enough to play Sharon Tate,’” Lawrence shared, reflecting on the harsh criticism she faced from social media trolls at the time.
The Hunger Games alum admitted she might be a bit hazy on the exact details, but the sting of the comments remains clear.
“I’m pretty sure it is true. Or it’s that thing where I’ve been telling this story this way for so long that I believe it,” she joked with her signature wit.
“No, but I’m pretty sure that happened. Or he just never was considering me for the part, and the internet went out of their way to call me ugly,” she added.
At the time of the film’s development, Lawrence was coming off a string of intense projects like Mother! and Red Sparrow, while Robbie was riding high on her first Oscar nomination for I, Tonya.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, went on to become a massive success, earning Academy Award nominations and securing Robbie’s place as a global leading lady.
Despite missing out on the Tarantino universe so far, J-Law’s career is currently on a major upswing.
She recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Female Actor for her powerhouse performance in Die My Love.
Plus, fans of Panem have reason to celebrate: Lawrence is reportedly set to make a highly anticipated cameo as Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
She is also slated to reunite with her Don’t Look Up co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming horror project, What Happens at Night.
As for Tarantino? The clock is ticking. The director has famously claimed he will retire after his tenth film.
If he’s truly been “chasing” Lawrence for over a decade, fans are hoping he finally catches her for his final bow before he heads into the sunset.
