Jennifer Lawrence’s family discouraged her involvement in ‘dangerous’ new doc about women’s rights in Afghanistan

Jennifer Lawrence’s family and friends shared their concerns when she first started working on Bread & Roses, a new documentary about women’s rights in Afghanistan.

The 34-year-old, who’s currently expecting her second baby with her husband Cooke Marooney, spoke about the discouragement she received from her loved ones about her involvement in the film, which follows three women on their journey to “recover their autonomy” after the Taliban seized power again in August 2021.

“My family and friends definitely encouraged me not to,” the No Hard Feelings actor told Gayle King on Tuesday’s (November 19) episode of CBS Mornings. “It’s dangerous — of course it is. But there’s 20 million women whose lives are in danger.”

Lawrence appeared on the morning segment with her co-producer, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, and director Sahra Mani.

King went on to ask Lawrence whether she has seen any negative reactions from “trolls” online who say she’s “inserting herself” into the conversation unnecessarily.

“Well, they always say different things,” Lawrence said, laughing. “I did a 60 Minutes interview where I explained that I dropped out of middle school, so I’m technically not educated. And so I think the common (criticism), especially with this subject, is, ‘Why is somebody without an education trying to talk about ‘politics’?’

“To that, I say, it’s not political. It’s people’s lives,” she continued. “It’s political in the sense that you should push your congresspeople and you should get involved to make our government more accountable, then the UN can recognize gender apartheid.

“But I don’t find it political. And also, I am educated in filmmaking. I’m educated in telling stories.”

Lawrence announced that she was pregnant for a second time on October 20. She and husband Cooke Maroney welcomed their first child, two-year-old son Cy, back in February 2022.

The parents tied the knot in October 2019 after privately getting engaged.

Lawrence is also credited as a producer on Zurawski v Texas, which is about a group of women who sued the state of Texas in 2023 for denying their abortion rights. That film had itsworld premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in August.

Bread & Roses will premiere on Apple TV+ November 22.