Jennifer Lawrence on Why She Spoke Out After the Presidential Election, Leaving Earth Behind in 'Passengers'

— -- Jennifer Lawrence made headlines last month when she penned an essay after the presidential election about moving forward and acting on what you believe in.

The “Passengers” actress, 26, said she understands the backlash some actors receive when they speak out on political issues but said she felt a need to address “the divide” in the country with her fans.

“I didn't mean to speak to only people who voted for Hillary [Clinton],” Lawrence said in an interview with Michael Strahan that aired today on “Good Morning America." “I meant to just speak to the divide ... for any presidential candidate, being very extreme is scary, left or right.”

Lawrence said she recognized that girls who were pre-teens when they started following her in “The Hunger Games” are now of voting age and still paying attention to what she says and does.

“When the election happened, I couldn't help but think of those girls who are 18,” she said. “I completely understand when people say, ‘Just shut up and act.’ But for me there are times where I feel a real need to speak to those girls.”

Much to her fans’ delight, Lawrence is back on the big screen this month in “Passengers,” a sci-fi romance in which she and her co-star, Chris Pratt, leave Earth behind to journey 120 years into the future for life on a new planet.

“I love sci-fi. I love watching sci-fi, but it was a genre I just didn't see for myself,” Lawrence said. “Then once I read it, it was just unbelievable.”

The film’s drama centers on a disruption that wakes Lawrence and Pratt’s characters 90 years too early in their journey.

Lawrence said she can’t imagine leaving her life and loved ones behind as her character does.

“I mean, as things are right now, I can't see, like, just saying goodbye to everyone I know and love and just peacing out,” she said. “I think the journey sounds amazing. If I could bring people, maybe I would.”

Lawrence explained that it would actually be her dog, Pippi Lawrence-stocking, that she would not leave behind.

“She's not a person,” Lawrence said, “but I couldn't leave without Pippi.”