Jennifer Lawrence has revealed she lost an acting role to Margot Robbie after critics called her ugly.
The American actress, 35, said she was denied a part in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood because she was deemed not “pretty enough,” according to The Telegraph newspaper.
Robbie was cast in her place in the Quentin Tarantino blockbuster, which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.
Lawrence told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that Tarantino had expressed interest in her playing Sharon Tate, the actress and wife of Roman Polanski, who was murdered by members of the Manson Family cult in 1969.
“Well, he did, and then everybody was like, ‘She’s not pretty enough to play Sharon Tate’,” she said.
“I’m pretty sure it is true, or it’s that thing where I’ve been telling the story this way for so long that I believe it. No, but I’m pretty sure that happened. Or he just was never considering me for the part, and the internet just, like, went out of their way to call me ugly,” Lawrence said.
Ahead of the 2019 film, Debra Tate, the sister of Sharon, said Robbie should take the part because Lawrence was “not pretty enough.”
“They are both extremely accomplished actresses, but I would have to say my pick would be Margot, simply because of her physical beauty and the way she carries herself – it’s similar to that of Sharon,” she said.
“I don’t think as much about Jennifer Lawrence – not that I have anything against her. She’s just, I don’t know, she’s not pretty enough to play Sharon. That’s a horrible thing to say, but I have my standards,” she added.
Tarantino said in 2021 that he had also considered Lawrence for the part of Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a member of the Manson Family.
“Early on, I investigated the idea of Jennifer Lawrence playing Squeaky,” he said. “So she read it, and afterward we talked about it a little bit... something didn’t work out... But she’s a very nice person, and I respect her as an actress,” he said.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood won three Golden Globes and two Oscars after its release in 2019.
