Jennifer Lawrence joined Instagram after a decade, and warned she'll leave if it turns nasty

Well, here it is: Jennifer Lawrence has finally caved and joined Instagram, after years of holding out. The account’s called @jlaw (since the obvious option was already snatched up, as she points out herself). She’s jumped right in – and, predictably, the internet mob showed up for her debut with 3.5 million followers stacking up almost instantly. Only took about a day for her comments section to turn into a bit of a circus.

Lawrence put the request to her followers in an Instagram Story: "please be mindful," adding, "mean or aggressive comments could negatively affect the baby." Then, in case anyone thought she’d secretly had a child, she landed the punchline: "It’s me, I’m the baby."

Let’s be clear, she’s not just clowning in the Stories for laughs – she delivered a proper warning with her first video. Any unwelcome nonsense in her comments, and she’s out:

She told followers she would quit Instagram "Immediately. No questions asked" if people got nasty in the comments. She even joked she could “tell if someone was thinking something mean”.

Lawrence didn’t just set this boundary out of nowhere, either. If you’ve followed her at all, you’ll know she’s steered clear of social media for years on purpose. Back in 2014, she laid it out on BBC Radio 1: Twitter was absolutely not her thing, and any “Jennifer Lawrence” popping up online was someone else entirely. Given the way these platforms go, it’s not shocking she’s treading cautiously now she’s finally signed up.

For anyone who’s somehow missed her, Lawrence became a megastar with The Hunger Games saga, playing Katniss Everdeen, and then turned into an Oscar darling with a win for Silver Linings Playbook and nominations for the likes of Winter’s Bone, American Hustle, and Joy. The geeks among us know her as Mystique/Raven in four X-Men films, starting with X-Men: First Class in 2011 and ending up in Dark Phoenix.