A Nod to First Wives Got This Actress in Trouble

“Know what is says? It says, ‘I beat Meryl,’” jokes Bette Midler’s character in The First Wives Club when she picks up the Academy Award statuette belonging to Goldie Hawn’s character.

Fun fact – the Oscar used in the scene was the real deal which Hawn had actually won for Best Supporting Actress for Cactus Flower in 1970.

Bette Midler, however, has yet to win one of the coveted gold statues.

That movie scene happened in 1996. Fast forward to the Golden Globes in 2013 when Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook.

As she accepted the award, she quipped, "What does it say? I beat Meryl.”

For context, Meryl was also nominated in the same category for Hope Springs.

While Lawrence intended it as a joke, some didn’t pick up on the reference to First Wives Club.

Lindsey Lohan tweeted, “[No one] should ever mess with a legend, such as Meryl Streep.”

The knee-jerk reaction from some fans was similar, and Lawrence was seen by some as having rubbed the win in another actress’ face.

“It’s never a good idea for me to wing it,” Lawrence said later, commenting about the ordeal stemming from her impromptu  moment. “I wanted to make a public statement, like: ‘Hey idiots, it’s a quote. From a movie.’ I can't believe nobody's ever done it before.”