‘The Hunger Games’ Actress Jena Malone Claims She Was Sexually Assaulted While Filming

Jena Malone has addressed a past instance of sexual assault. During the filming of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 in 2015, the actress said she had been sexually assaulted in France, according to a post she made to her Instagram account on Feb. 28. While sharing an image taken in a French countryside shortly after the final installment of the franchise wrapped, Jena shared she was going through “a swirling mix of emotions im only now just learning to sort thru. “This time in Paris was extremely hard for me, was going thru a bad break up and also was sexually assaulted by someone I had worked with,” she wrote. “I was so full of gratitude for this project, the people I became close with and this amazing part I got to play.” According to Jena, who played Johanna Mason in the franchise, “I wish it wasn’t tied to such a traumatic event for me but that is the real wildness of life I I guess. How to hold the chaos with the beauty.” In her statement, the 38-year-old did not name the alleged attacker. She said, “I’ve worked very hard to heal and learn thru restorative justice,” as well as approaching “how to make peace with the person who violated me and make peace with myself.”

Jena added, “It’s been hard to talk about the Hunger Games,” and her character without “feeling the sharpness of this moment in time but I’m ready to move thru it and reclaim the joy and accomplishment I felt. “Lots of love to you survivors out there,” she wrote at the end of her message. “The process is so slow and non linear. I want to say im here for anyone who needs to talk or vent or open uncommunicated spaces within themselves.” Willow Shields, who played Primrose Everdeen in the Hunger Games movies (sister to Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen), commented underneath, “This post has me at a loss of words. I understand and I hope that though the process is so slow you are okay Jena.” Another comment stated, “Fellow survivor here that loves you,” and Jena replied with a touching message. “love you,” she wrote. “Happy to call you sister.” In addition, Jena also responded to a comment made by a social media user who said, “and unfortunately whoever violated you got to walk away with no repercussions.” Jena replied, “no that’s not true. 

“I used restorative justice to allow healing and accountability and growth with the other person,” the Sucker Punch actress continued. “It was a hard process but one I believe truly helped me move thru some of the hardest parts of the grief.” Moreover, Jena also detailed her healing process in another Instagram post in which she stated that she “did a lot of online research” and would one day “try and write out the process I used” when she is prepared to do so. “What lead me there was feeling not held by ‘outing’ someone using the traditional cancel like culture that has been created,” she said. “I also don’t fully see how the criminal justice system could fully repair my healing, though I do believe it can help in many ways. It all lead me to using restorative justice, basically a system of repairing harm, to speak to the other party involved and make requests of my healing journey and really just be heard.” Though Jena acknowledged the method “wasn’t perfect” and that she could’ve “used the help of the many teachers who practice restorative justice in mediation settings,” she felt as if she had to “do it alone.”