Jennifer Lawrence removed from Israel Mockingjay Part 2 posters as 'the female image is often torn down'

Jennifer Lawrence might be the face of The Hunger Games franchise but some towns in Israel have cut her out of promotional posters for final film Mockingjay Part 2.

The Oscar-winning actress is seen in full Girl on Fire get-up, complete with bow and arrow, but the marketing material has been censored to avoid offending those who believe the female image is immoral.

Ultra-Orthodox newspapers and advertising agencies regularly edit “unkosher” women out of photographs, while posters featuring females are often torn down or vandalised, particularly in the city of Jerusalem.

Public images that could offend the religious population are banned in the city of Bnei Brak and instead, residents will only see a censored version of the poster, showing a fiery crow.

Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that it was Mockingjay Part 2’s Israeli PR company who decided to erase Lawrence from the posters.

“Unfortunately we are subject to unofficial coercion that forces us to be more careful,” Liron Suissa, vice president of marketing at Nur Star Media, said. “We have had endless vandalisation and clients prefer not to take the chance.

“We allow everything but we recommend hanging another visual when necessary. The decision is the client’s.”

The original poster can be seen in other, less densely populated Israeli cities.

Lawrence stars in the lead as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games movies, which are often referred to when arguing that action films with women at the centre can be box office smashes. It is, therefore, disturbing that she cannot even feature on a poster in some countries because of her gender.

Nevertheless, the series has proved popular in Israel, with the two films released there so far grossing more than $6.3 million.