Twitter

Last December, in the middle of the Sony email hacking scandal, Page Six revealed that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams were paid less money for American Hustle than their male costars Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and Jeremy Renner. As Page Six reported:

The e-mails detail the “points” — or back-end payments — that each of the actors in American Hustle would be receiving, and Lawrence and fellow female star Amy Adams were arguably getting hustled.

Lawrence and Adams got just 7 percent, according to the e-mails, which were uncovered on Friday by The Daily Beast.

Contrast that with the 9 percent that Sony offered to director David O. Russell as well as male co-stars Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner.

Andrew Gumpert, president of business affairs for Sony’s Columbia Pictures, admits in a Dec. 5, 2013 e-mail that he got a “rush call” complaining that the men were getting more than the ladies.

But Gumpert stuck to his guns — even patting himself on the back for having given “2 extra points for Jennifer to get her up to 7.”

Nearly a year later, Lawrence has finally opened up about the pay discrepancy with a new essay in Lenny Letter, the e-newsletter from Lena Dunham and Girls showrunner Jenni Konner.

Lawrence writes that she had a hand in negotiating her contract for American Hustle, and that a consideration of how she’s be perceived definitely played into how she handled the situation. But it wasn’t until the email hacks did she realized her own mistake — and she initially blamed herself. “When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony,” she writes. “I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early.” She continues:

…if I’m honest with myself, I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem “difficult” or “spoiled.” At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn’t worry about being “difficult” or “spoiled.” This could be a young-person thing. It could be a personality thing. I’m sure it’s both.

Of course, Lawrence is liked mostly because she’s branded herself as the down-to-Earth, sometimes outspoken Hollywood starlet (she complains about not eating before awards shows, etc.). That’s why Lenny Letter was probably the perfect place for her to speak her mind on the issue, which she does in her trademark honest way.

I’m over trying to find the “adorable” way to state my opinion and still be likable! Fuck that. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard. It’s just heard. Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper all fought and succeeded in negotiating powerful deals for themselves. If anything, I’m sure they were commended for being fierce and tactical, while I was busy worrying about coming across as a brat and not getting my fair share. Again, this might have NOTHING to do with my vagina, but I wasn’t completely wrong when another leaked Sony email revealed a producer referring to a fellow lead actress in a negotiation as a “spoiled brat.” For some reason, I just can’t picture someone saying that about a man.

Even though the Sony hacks were controversial and revealed some dirty secrets that took place behind the scenes at the studio, one positive outcome is that leading ladies like Lawrence know for sure they don’t need to keep quiet any longer — and can negotiate a fair salary just like their male counterparts.

Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!