Megan Fox is optimus primed for a comeback after the world realised she deserves better from Hollywood â and a massive apology from the rest of us.
On Monday, the âTransformersâ star responded to a viral Twitter post over the weekend that resurfaced a disturbing interview with Jimmy Kimmel in which the host laughs off how she was hypersexualised as a teenager and demeaned by director Michael Bay.
Despite the directorâs well-documented track record of sexist behaviour, Fox is calling for him to be spared in the reckoning for the âruthlessly misogynistic industry.â
While Fox said that she âgreatly appreciate[s] the outpouring of support,â however belated it may be, she called for fans to direct that energy elsewhere, while clearing up some misconceptions about her working relationship with Bay.
âI know that a discussion has erupted online surrounding some of my experiences in Hollywood and the subsequent mishandling of this information by the media and society in general,â Fox wrote in a statement on Instagram. âI do feel I need to clarify some of the details as they have been lost in the retelling of the events and cast a sinister shadow that doesnât really, in my opinion, belong. At least not where itâs currently being projected ... â
Fox confirmed that she indeed was underage when Bay asked her to dance under a waterfall in a bikini as an extra on âBad Boys II,â but dispelled the rumor that she was asked to âwashâ Bayâs sports car during her audition for the first âTransformersâ movie.
âItâs important to note however that when I auditioned for Transformers I was 19 or 20. I did âworkâ (me pretending to know how to hold a wrench) on one of Michaelâs Ferrariâs during one of the audition scenes,â she continued, noting that there were several other crew members and employees present at the time.
Fox added, âI was at no point undressed or anything similar. So as far as this particular audition story I was not underaged at the time and I was not made to âwashâ or work on someoneâs cars in a way that was extraneous from the material in the actual script. I hope that whatever opinions are formed around these episodes will at least be seeded in the facts of the events.â
She went onto to deny ever being âassaulted or preyed upon in what I felt was a sexual mannerâ by Bay or âTransformersâ franchise producer Steven Spielberg.
Bay also weighed in on the conversation, sharing Foxâs statement and a still image from the audition in question on Instagram on Monday.
âMegan Fox wrote this today. This is a still from her Audition taping 13 years ago. No. She is not washing a car nor in a bikini like the press have falsely said for many years,â he wrote. âAnd I personally think Megan is fantastic. Iâm proud to have worked with her, and still am planning on working with her.â
While her story is certainly eyebrow-raising, Fox asserted that these experiences are unfortunately âinconsequential in a long and arduous journey along which I have endured some genuinely harrowing experiences in a ruthlessly misogynistic industry.â
âIâm thankful to all of you who are brave enough to speak out and Iâm grateful to all of you who are taking it upon yourselves to support, uplift, and bring comfort to those who have been harmed by a violent and toxic societal paradigm,â she concluded the statement.
In the past, Fox has expressed her reluctance to share her own Me Too anecdotes, noting in a 2018 interview with The New York Times that she has âquite a few stories,â but held back over fears that she wouldnât be seen as a âsympathetic victim.â
In her post on Monday, Fox hinted that maybe sheâll publicly address them one day, writing, âThere are many names that deserve to be going viral in cancel culture right now, but they are safely stored in the fragmented recess of my heart.â
Now, go stream âJenniferâs Bodyâ and give the camp horror classic the respect it deserves.