Telling her story. Actress Jena Malone revealed that she was sexually assaulted while filming the fourth and final Hunger Games installment, Mockingjay — Part 2.
The Saved! star, 38, recalled the incident by sharing a photo of herself standing in a wheat field taken after she had wrapped the 2015 action film. Beginning the post with a trigger warning, she wrote via Instagram, “We were shooting in a beautiful estate in the countryside of France and I asked the driver to let me out in this field so I could cry and capture this moment.”
She continued: “Even tho 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, I was so full of gratitude for this project, the people I became close with and this amazing part I got to play.” The star did not share the name of her alleged perpetrator.
“A swirling mix of emotions im only now just learning to sort thru,” Malone — who played tribute Johanna Mason in film series — added. “I wish it wasn’t tied to such a traumatic event for me but that is the real wildness of life I guess. How to hold the chaos with the beauty. I’ve worked very hard to heal and learn thru restorative justice, how to make peace with the person who violated me and make peace with myself.”
The Antebellum star went on to note that it has been difficult for her to talk about the popular movie franchise and her character “without feeling the sharpness of this moment in time,” but added that she’s “ready to move thru and reclaim the joy and accomplishment I felt.”
She concluded her post by showing support for others who have gone through similar experiences. “Lots of love to you survivors out there,” she wrote. “The process is so slow and nonlinear. I want to say im here for anyone who needs to talk or vent or open uncommunicated spaces within themselves. Please dm me if you need a safe space to be heard.”
Malone got her big break playing a younger version of Jodie Foster’s character in the 1997 film Contact, which she followed up by starring alongside Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in the 1998 drama Stepmom. A few years later, she booked the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko, starring opposite Jake Gyllenhaal.
Several TV and movie roles later — including her critically acclaimed portrayal of Mary in 2004’s indie hit Saved! — Malone made her Hunger Games debut in 2013’s Catching Fire and went reprised her role in Mockingjay parts 1 and 2 alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and more.
The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star became a mother in 2016 when she welcomed son Ode, 6, with her then-fiancé, Ethan DeLorenzo, whom she split from in 2019.
In August 2022, Malone came out as pansexual via social media.
“It felt so nice,” she told The Hollywood Reporter of coming out at the time. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. The sexual journey is so beautiful. I mean, all of the identity journeys are so cool. I feel like I’m a little bit late to the game in being able to have less shame. I’ve been loving the process of learning more about myself and others through different terms that open windows, those windows then turns into doors and then I arrive at a place to find all this cool stuff out there.”
She continued: “It’s a part of humanity now to have all these ceremonies of exclamation around coming out and renouncing [an identity] and celebrating that space for yourself. It’s a really sweet, human experience. I love getting to learn more about myself no matter the age or my experience.”
