Jennifer Lawrence Faces Backlash After Winning BAFTA Award Over Lupita Nyong’o
Jennifer Lawrence took home another award and attracted criticism after winning best supporting actress on Sunday over Lupita Nyong'o at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards.
The 23-year-old "Hunger Games" actress became a press (as well as America's) darling after last year's award season, and she received applause for being an unstoppable force. A year later, the story is a little bit different.
Jennifer Lawrence performance in "American Hustle" is seen as less important when compared to Lupita Nyong'o in "12 Years a Slave," where she plays a mistreated slave named Patsy. The two completely different roles pit a more comedic performance with one that's serious and heartbreaking.
Many took to Twitter to criticize Lawrence's win, according to Yahoo!
Chief film critic Robbie Collin said on the social media site, "Jennifer Lawrence another baffling choice. A fun performance in an uneven category. But Lupita Nyong'o should have been a shoo-in."
Writer Andrew Ellard also shared his disappointment. He wrote, "Lawrence won a We Love Jennifer award, basically. Who's shocked that these things are popularity contests not pure art appreciation?
The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw said, "I also share the widespread feeling that Jennifer Lawrence's stock price has now peaked."
Others used humor to express their confusion. Bim Adewunmi shared a GIF directed at Jennifer Lawrence that was captioned with "Run like you stole something."
Some were just direct. Red Carpet Fashion tweeted, "Jennifer Lawrence wins over Lupita Nyong'o in the best supporting actress category again? #DontGetIt"
Jennifer Lawrence was not present at the BAFTAs to accept her award, so "American Hustle" director David O. Russell accepted the trophy on her behalf. Yahoo called his speech "oddly self-serving."
Based on the award season thus far, Lawrence and Nyong'o seem like the front-runners for the Oscar win, but we'll see who comes out on top on March 2.