Kaiser recently described me as “the resident Jennifer Lawrence-loonie,” and I will agree that this claim is mostly accurate. I definitely do give JLaw a lot more leeway than other young stars, mostly because she’s (by all accounts) a complete professional on set and while performing all work-related and promotional duties. She’s not an eye-rolling brat who whines about the injustices of fame like someone else we know.

Okay, I’ll just come out and say it — JLaw is no Kristen Stewart, which is why I didn’t make a huge deal out of it when Jennifer showed her middle finger to the Oscars press room. It’s not like JLaw does this all the time, but I imagine she was feeling a bit unnerved after falling up a set of stairs in front of several million television viewers as well as her peers. The poor girl had endured a very long awards season that was further plagued by a nasty case of walking pneumonia and (probably) Harvey Weinstein whining at her to wear Marchesa. She really needed to take a load off, and she’s just so damn adorable that it’s hard to get mad at her for one instance of a middle finger. I’m not saying it was a smart move, but it was a one-time thing.

Similarly, I don’t see a big deal about JLaw being photographed smoking pot in her hotel room in Hawaii a few days after the Oscars. She was in the privacy of her own room, and the paps were taking photos of the interior of her suite with long-range lenses. So she wasn’t flashing the joint about in the open or tweeting photos of herself and a cloud of smoke or some other such nonsense. She was simply relaxing in her room during the few days before she had to be on set for Catching Fire. Hell, I’d be worried about her if she wasn’t taking a load off since her schedule is so jam-packed these days, but this week’s issue of Star says that JLaw is in the midst of a Bieber-esque tailspin now, and her family is so worried about her. Here’s the story in case you want to laugh too:

As soom as she finished her self-deprecatingly funny acceptance speech at the Oscars, Jennifer Lawrence went from up-and-coming actress to America’s Golden Girl. But just moments later, the talented beauty was downing a shot of booze and flipping off reporters. It’s clearly been a whirlwind for the 22-year-old Academy Award winner for Best Actress, and she’s been celebrating nonstop ever since.

Days after the Oscars, the Silver Linings Playbook star took off for Hawaii to reshoot scenes for the upcoming Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire. And on the balcony of heer room at the posh Modern hotel in Honolulu on Feb. 27, now dyed brunette, she was spotted drinking heavily and smoking marijuana. “Jennifer was partying it up with one of her friends, smoking weed and drinking wine and dancing around like crazy,” says a witness. “You could smell the weed wafting out from her room.”

That is also where Jennifer got hot and heavy with a mysterious dark-haired female “friend,” fueling rumors that the Kentucky-born beauty might be gay! “They were holding hands and very touchy-feely. We all noticed it,” says a staffer at the hotel who witnessed the pair later in the night while drinking at the hotel bar The Study. “Jennifer was pretty drunk and loud. She was hardly wearing any makeup, but she still looked really gorgeous. The guys were all trying to hit on them, but it was a no-go.” At about midnight a couple of Jen’s male friends, including her Catching Fire costar Jeffrey Wright, joined the pair. He ordered a round of tequila shots, and “even though Jen had been drinking red wine all night, she had no problem slamming it back,” the source explains.

Afterward, they all went to raunchy Honolulu strip joint Club Femme Nu for last call. “Jennifer was holding hands with the dark-haired girl, and they were whispering in each other’s ear,” says another witness. “But they both looked kind of uncomfortable and bounced after about five minutes.”

While it may all be fun and games for Jennifer right now, her family is worried that her relentless parting and newfound fame may be too much for her. “She’s just a young girl and feels overwhelmed,” says a source close to her family. The last thing her family wants is the fame and fortune to eat her up like it’s done to so many celebrities. Just days after heading to Hawaii she admitted that she’s taken too much on, saying, “Don’t ask me about my schedule, because I’m sinking into a bit of depression …. I just want to sit on my couch and drink and not change my pants for days at a time.”

While Jennifer’s family has been trying to keep a closer eye on her — and even pushing her to talk to a therapist — she has become such a bit star that it’s not going to be easy to slow her down. As the family friend explains, “She’s a tough girl, but the pressures of Hollywood can take their toll on anyone.”

[From Star, print edition, March 18, 2013]

So … the strip club stuff seems like complete nonsense, right? The girl in these photos is rumored to be the girlfriend of one of Jennifer’s brothers, but since there’s a photo of them hugging, it feels like Star is pretty much just making sh-t up about them being all cuddly and “gay” together. I mean, how scandalous.

Look, I don’t doubt for a moment that JLaw must certainly be feeling the pressure of such immense success in just a few year’s time. She works nonstop and tirelessly, but she’s always been nothing but gregarious and kind towards journalists. Will there be an eventual backlash to her overexposure? Eventually, that will probably surface, but Star’s going to have to try much harder than this silly story to make it happen.

Photos courtesy of WENN