Jennifer Lawrence has admitted she can be an “asshole” to fans, as a way of discouraging them from asking her for an autograph or a selfie.

The Oscar-winning actress made the admission during an interview with Adam Sandler for Variety, during which they discussed how they cope with being recognised in public.

Adam claimed that, as a comedian, fans often feel comfortable “pulling up a chair” if they spot him in public, with Jennifer admitting it’s not something she’s comfortable with.

When Adam commented that as an “approachable” celebrity the ‘mother!’ star must experience similar treatment, she confessed: “Once I enter a public place, I become incredibly rude.”

She continued: “I turn into a huge asshole… and that’s kind of my only way of defending myself. Just being… an asshole. Seeing someone walking towards my table and just… *wags finger*.

“Or ‘can I have a selfie’, and I’m like, ‘no!’. That’s, like, my only defence.”

Jennifer also claimed that sometimes she uses the excuse that it’s “her day off”, joking: “If it’s Sunday, I’m like, ‘it’s Sunday, I’m not working today’.”

But while Jennifer isn’t always thrilled to spend time with her fans on her own time, in the past she’s admitted to being quite a fangirl at times herself.

Previously recalling having spotted ‘Star Wars’ director J.J. Abrams with Harrison Ford at an event, she revealed: “I never assume anyone knows who I am, but when I spotted Harrison Ford and J.J. Abrams I was like, ‘It’ll be fine, we’re all co-workers, right?’

“So I went up to them and started dancing like an idiot and the whole table just went quiet and stared at me.

“I realised while I was dancing that they had absolutely no idea who I was so I just turned around and walked back… dying of embarrassment.”