Jennifer Lawrence on wearing flip-flops at Cannes 2023: ‘Not a political statement’

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence - whose new documentary, titled Bread and Roses, centred on the lives of three women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival - made headlines last month for another reason. The Hunger Games star paired her striking beautiful red Christian Dior gown with black flip-flops! Ditching the heels, she walked the red carpet at one of the world’s most coveted film and fashion events in flats.  

Naturally, people have been curious to know if it was a political stunt. Turns out, it was not! Speaking with Entertainment Tonight’s co-host Nischelle Turner, while promoting her upcoming movie, No Hard Feelings, alongside actor Andrew Barth Feldman, the Silver Linings Playbook actress said, “Ok, thank you for bringing this up. I would really like to straighten this out. I was not making a political statement, not that I wouldn’t. I had no idea until it came out that there was a whole controversy with people wearing flats, or like, walking down the red carpet barefoot. I had no clue.”

So, why did she prefer wearing flip-flops? “My shoes were too big. I wore heels going up, but then I forgot to take a picture with my production team, Excellent Cadaver. So, we had to take an Excellent Cadaver picture, and I knew I would eat s**t if I went down in the shoes that were a size too big. I put on the flip-flops, and then everybody’s like, ‘What a statement! Wow!’ I’m all for making a statement. I just would want it to be on purpose.” The covertly filmed documentary is produced by Excellent Cadaver - a company that Jennifer runs along with her friend Justine Ciarrocchi.

Also read: Bread and Roses: Jennifer Lawrence’s documentary on Afghan women premieres at Cannes 2023

Bread and Roses includes footage where they show the women cooped up at a windowless basement in Kabul, where they are trying to learn something. It is said that the documentary also shows a woman speaking back to the Taliban soldiers, which was shot on her mobile phone.