Jennifer Lawrence apologises for Hawaii 'butt-scratching' story

Jennifer Lawrence's story caused a backlash on social media

US actress Jennifer Lawrence has apologised after telling a story about scratching her "butt" on sacred rocks in Hawaii.

In a statement on Facebook, she said she meant "absolutely no disrespect to the Hawaiian people".

The actress had told the BBC's The Graham Norton Show that the incident happened when she was filming The Hunger Games in the US state.

She faced a backlash, with some viewers calling on her to apologise.

Lawrence, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2012 film Silver Linings Playbook, had told the BBC presenter she had been filming in a location where there were "sacred rocks".

"You're not supposed to sit on them because you're not supposed to expose your genitalia to them," she said.

"I, however, was in a wetsuit for this whole shoot so - oh my God, they were so good for butt-itching. One rock that I was butt-scratching on ended up coming loose.

"It was a giant boulder and it rolled down this mountain and almost killed our sound guy."

She added: "His whole station got destroyed, it was a huge dramatic deal and all the Hawaiians were like 'Oh my god, it's the curse'. And I'm round the corner going, 'I'm your curse - I wedged it loose with my ass'."

More than 1.3 million people watched the clip after it was posted on BBC One's Facebook page.

Some viewers called on Lawrence to apologise for her comments.

Arghya Ghosh commented: "Weird to see how perspectives work, I mean it's funny to her because she doesn't belong to that culture. I mean if you destroy a historical or cultural site, it's pretty much a crime."

Jennifer Lawrence played Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games

Marcia Ogasawara, from Hawaii, said she didn't find it funny, adding: "If she left the part of it being sacred out, then I wouldn't care; but knowing native Hawaiians built that for some significance and her talking like it's not a big deal, it's very disappointing."

The star later took to her own Facebook page to apologise, starting the post: "From Jen to the Internet."

"I meant absolutely no disrespect to the Hawaiian people," she said.

"I really thought that I was being self-deprecating about the fact that I was 'the curse', but I understand the way it was perceived was not funny and I apologise if I offended anyone."

It is not known exactly where the rocks are in Hawaii but some of the scenes of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire were filmed on the North Shore of Oahu at Kawela Bay.

It was used as the location for a scene when the tributes appear on top of the saltwater lake at the arena for the Quarter Quell.