Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence has withdrawn from playing Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of blood-testing startup Theranos, in the upcoming film Bad Blood directed by Adam McKay. The decision came after Lawrence watched Amanda Seyfried play the role of Holmes in the Hulu series The Dropout, which premiered in March. Lawrence told The New York Times, “I thought she was terrific. I was like, Yeah, we dont need to redo that. She did it.”

The decision to drop out

Jennifer Lawrence’s decision to drop out of the Elizabeth Holmes biopic comes after her interview with The New York Times was published on May 3, 2023. In the interview, Lawrence talked about her experience watching Amanda Seyfried play the same role in The Dropout series and how she thought Seyfried was “terrific.” The news of Lawrence’s departure from the film comes two years after it was first announced that she would be playing the lead role in the movie.

The impact on the movie

The decision by Jennifer Lawrence to withdraw from the Bad Blood film has left the production team scrambling to find a replacement actress to fill the lead role. Although no official announcement has been made about the film’s production, sources say that it is now on hold until a new lead actress can be found. Some fans of the Hulu series The Dropout have criticized the decision to make a movie about Elizabeth Holmes, stating that Seyfried’s portrayal of the former Theranos CEO was already sufficient.

The rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of blood-testing startup Theranos, was once hailed as a Silicon Valley visionary. In 2015, Forbes named her the youngest self-made female billionaire in history, with an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion. However, her company’s technology was revealed to be a fraud, and in 2018 she was charged with multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In March 2022, Holmes was found guilty on four counts of fraud and now faces up to 20 years in prison.

The controversy surrounding the Elizabeth Holmes story

The story of Elizabeth Holmes and the rise and fall of Theranos has been the subject of much controversy. Some have criticized the media’s initial fawning coverage of Holmes and the company, while others have raised concerns about the lack of regulatory oversight in the medical device industry. The publication of John Carreyrou’s book “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup” and subsequent documentaries and TV series have shed light on the deception at the heart of Theranos, but the fallout from the scandal continues to reverberate in the tech industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Elizabeth Holmes?

  Elizabeth Holmes is an American former businesswoman and entrepreneur who founded the now-defunct blood-testing company, Theranos, which was later exposed for fraud. She was once hailed as a Silicon Valley visionary and became the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire before the company’s downfall.

• What is “Bad Blood”?

  “Bad Blood” is a non-fiction book written by Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou, which chronicles the rise and fall of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes. The book is based on Carreyrou’s investigative reporting on the company and its fraudulent practices.

• Who is Amanda Seyfried?

  Amanda Seyfried is an American actress known for her roles in films such as “Mean Girls,” “Mamma Mia!,” and “Les Misrables.” She portrayed Elizabeth Holmes in the Emmy-winning limited series “The Dropout,” which is based on the rise and fall of Theranos and its founder.

• What is the controversy surrounding Elizabeth Holmes?

  Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos, were exposed for fraud after falsely claiming to have developed technology that could perform multiple blood tests with a single drop of blood. Holmes and her former partner and COO, Sunny Balwani, were indicted on multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy. In 2021, Holmes was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is currently awaiting sentencing.