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Megan Fox Denies Being 'Preyed' On By Michael Bay In Post About Hollywood Misogyny

The "Transformers" star responded to a viral thread about how she was hypersexualized and mistreated as a young actor.

Megan Fox is optimus primed for a comeback after the world realised she deserves better from Hollywood — and a massive apology from the rest of us.

On Monday, the “Transformers” 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 director’s well-documented track record of sexist behaviour, Fox is calling for him to be spared in the reckoning for the “ruthlessly misogynistic industry.”

While Fox said that she “greatly appreciate[s] the outpouring of support,” 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.

“I 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,” Fox wrote in a statement on Instagram. “I 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 doesn’t really, in my opinion, belong. At least not where it’s currently being projected ... ”

Fox confirmed that she indeed was underage when Bay asked her to dance under a waterfall in a bikini as an extra on “Bad Boys II,” but dispelled the rumor that she was asked to “wash” Bay’s sports car during her audition for the first “Transformers” movie.

“It’s important to note however that when I auditioned for Transformers I was 19 or 20. I did ‘work’ (me pretending to know how to hold a wrench) on one of Michael’s Ferrari’s during one of the audition scenes,” she continued, noting that there were several other crew members and employees present at the time.

Fox added, “I 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 ‘wash’ or work on someone’s 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.”

Michael Bay and Megan Fox attend the premiere of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in 2014.
Kevin Winter via Getty Images
Michael Bay and Megan Fox attend the premiere of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in 2014.

She went onto to deny ever being “assaulted or preyed upon in what I felt was a sexual manner” by Bay or “Transformers” franchise producer Steven Spielberg.

Bay also weighed in on the conversation, sharing Fox’s statement and a still image from the audition in question on Instagram on Monday.

“Megan 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,” he wrote. “And I personally think Megan is fantastic. I’m proud to have worked with her, and still am planning on working with her.”

While her story is certainly eyebrow-raising, Fox asserted that these experiences are unfortunately “inconsequential in a long and arduous journey along which I have endured some genuinely harrowing experiences in a ruthlessly misogynistic industry.”

“I’m thankful to all of you who are brave enough to speak out and I’m 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,” 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 “quite a few stories,” but held back over fears that she wouldn’t be seen as a “sympathetic victim.”

In her post on Monday, Fox hinted that maybe she’ll publicly address them one day, writing, “There 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.”

Now, go stream “Jennifer’s Body” and give the camp horror classic the respect it deserves.

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