Jennifer Lawrence Sparks Backlash After Defending Director in Feud With Christopher Nolan
Jennifer Lawrence is backing director David O. Russell, telling The New York Times podcast he never degraded or yelled at her on American Hustle — a defense arriving despite his embattled reputation, including reports of a past physical altercation with Christopher Nolan.
Jennifer Lawrence is sticking up for David O. Russell, and yeah, the timing and the history make that a bit of a record scratch. She says his style never crossed a line with her. Plenty of other stories suggest a rougher picture. So, let’s walk through what she said, the infamous Nolan headlock story, and the very long list of Russell dust-ups that follow him around.
Lawrence says Russell’s blunt style worked for her
On the New York Times podcast, Lawrence looked back at working with Russell on 2013’s American Hustle and said his direction lands as blunt, not abusive. She described him as a no-BS communicator who would just tell her if a take didn’t work.
"If he didn’t like something, he was just like: 'That was terrible. Looked like shit. Do it better.' I never felt like he was degrading or yelling at me."
She even joked about the kind of notes he’d fire off — 'Slower! Not so loud!' — and at one point said she wasn’t sensitive, then immediately admitted she is, actually, very sensitive. She also acknowledged he might have been tougher on other people, specifically mentioning Amy Adams, who has talked about crying on set during American Hustle. Per GQ, things got tense enough that Christian Bale stepped in and confronted Russell to make it stop.
The Nolan headlock story is as wild as you remember
One of the most infamous Russell tales involves Christopher Nolan and Jude Law. The year was 2003. Nolan was working on Batman Begins. Jude Law was in demand and reportedly considering a Nolan project at the time (accounts differ on whether that was Batman Begins or The Prestige).
According to the New York Times, Russell ran into Nolan at a Hollywood party, put him in a headlock in front of onlookers, and demanded Nolan release Law for Russell’s movie I Heart Huckabees — calling it a show of 'artistic solidarity.' Law ultimately stuck with I Heart Huckabees.
Absurd? Absolutely. But not an outlier for Russell headlines.
The longer pattern: blowups, accusations, apologies
- 1998 – Three Kings: Reports in Sharon Waxman’s book 'Rebels on the Backlot' describe a confrontation where George Clooney defended crew members from Russell’s behavior. It escalated into Russell headbutting Clooney and Clooney grabbing Russell’s throat. Russell later apologized; Clooney was left shaken.
- 2007 – I Heart Huckabees: Two behind-the-scenes videos leaked showing Russell in a profanity-laced argument with Lily Tomlin during production.
- 2013 – American Hustle: Amy Adams later confirmed she cried during the shoot. GQ reported that Christian Bale confronted Russell on set to protect Adams.
- March 2024: Puck reported that Russell punched a Sony executive in the stomach after the exec tripped over Russell’s leg.
- 2025 – Madden: The San Francisco Chronicle reported several crew members walked off when Russell used racial slurs publicly and tried to insert them into the script.
Meanwhile, the work
However messy the behind-the-scenes stories are, American Hustle pulled strong reviews, a stack of awards nominations, and remains one of Russell’s biggest commercial and critical hits. If you want to revisit it, American Hustle is available to rent on Apple TV (USA).