Jennifer Lawrence [1] stood up against the gender wage gap in Hollywood in an October essay for the Lenny Letter [2], and now she's revealing the surprising inspiration behind her powerful words. While attending a recent press conference for her film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2, the actress was asked whether playing Katniss had motivated her to tackle the issue [3]. "I don't see how I couldn't be inspired by this character," she said. "I mean I was so inspired by her when I read the books, it's the reason I wanted to play her . . . so I think it would be impossible to go four years with this character and not be inspired by her."

In her essay, Jennifer admitted that she didn't speak up for a long time because she didn't want to seem "difficult" or "spoiled," adding, "When I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with d*cks, I didn't get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early." Soon after the Lenny Letter essay came out, stars rallied around Jennifer in support. Her frequent costar Bradley Cooper [4] called it "a great thing." [5] Emma Watson [6] also took to Twitter to share her approval [7].

To honor Katniss's powerful attitude even more, check out the final Hunger Games trailer [8].