The Real Reason Jennifer Lawrence Joined Twitter

Jennifer Lawrence has famously said that she would never be publicly active on social media, but she's recently changed her mind. Lawrence joined Twitter in mid-June 2020, and her first tweet addressed two very pertinent and important topics — getting justice for Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed in her home in Louisville, Ky. by police officers, and showing support for the RepresentUs organization. Lawrence joined under the handle, @JLawrence_RepUs, which is a shout-out to the organization on which she sits as a board member. RepUs fights for federal reform in elections and the eradication of corruption in the election and criminal justice system. 

For her first tweet, Lawrence shared a short video from the organization noting that, "Nearly 1 in 4 Black men in America will be locked up at some point in their life." In her second tweet, she shared a long statement about wanting justice for Taylor and declaring solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. "As a Louisvillian, as a human being, I cannot be silent," Lawrence said. "I join all those who are speaking out against this grave injustice, calling upon Attorney General Daniel Cameron to take immediate action to hold those responsible for her death accountable." The Oscar-winning actor added, "We must not allow the erasure of Black women to continue in America. As many activists and leaders have been imploring for years: #SayHerName." 

It's been a while since Lawrence was in the public eye, and this one powerful "comeback," if you even want to call it that. 

If Jennifer Lawrence was ever going to join Twitter, now was the perfect time. She told InStyle in 2018 that she was on social media, but she was more of a "voyeur," given that she was trying to practice self-restraint and not just say anything that crossed her mind. The Hunger Games star wanted to be intentional with any social media platform. "I watch, I don't speak," she said. "There is always so much backlash. So many people are listening and paying attention, and they have so many opinions about absolutely everything. I really don't want to welcome that unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't want to put myself out there for no reason. Unless I'm promoting something or something really burns my onions, you won't hear from me."

While corruption, police brutality, and systemic racism likely do more than just "burn her onions," it tracks that June 2020 was the time she finally decided to speak out on social media and use her platform to raise awareness and fight in the name of social justice. 

Nearly 1 in 4 Black men in America will be locked up at some point in their life. In this short video, @omarepps & @desmondmeade explain how corruption has broken our criminal justice systemâ€"& what we can do to fix it. #UnbreakingAmerica #JusticeForSale https://t.co/nBgujzH2BH pic.twitter.com/Jhw4Jtav5L

— Jennifer Lawrence – Represent.Us (@JLawrence_RepUs) June 16, 2020

There was a time when it seemed like Jennifer Lawrence was in every movie and on every late night talk show, but as of 2018, she's been focusing more on activism and philanthropic work. 

She told Entertainment Tonight in 2018, "I'm going to take the next year off. I'm going to be working with this organization as a part of RepresentUs ... trying to get young people engaged politically on a local level. It's just anti-corruption, and stuff trying to pass state by state laws that can help prevent corruption, fix our democracy," she said. 

Lawrence also leads her own foundation, which seeks to "impact children's lives" in a positive way. 

Given her advocacy to seek justice for Breonna Taylor and to get people to watch the RepresentUs video about incarceration rates, it seems Lawrence may be expanding her scope. Hopefully she will keep using her social media platform for good, although a meme or two here and there from JLaw wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.