Megan Fox revealed in a new interview with The New York Times, published on Friday, why she decided not to publicly participate in the #MeToo movement. According to the actress, it’s because she believes the public has never seen her as “relatable or likable.”
“I just didn’t think based on how I’d been received by people, and by feminists, that I would be a sympathetic victim,” the star told the publication. “And I thought if ever there were a time where the world would agree that it’s appropriate to victim-shame someone, it would be when I come forward with my story.”
Fox said that she has “quite a few stories” she could have told as legions of women and men in Hollywood were inspired to come forward about their own experiences within the industry after accusations against Harvey Weinstein opened the floodgates in the fall of 2017.
Fox has previously opened up about uncomfortable moments in her career. In a 2009 interview with Wonderland magazine, she said she became frustrated with Transformers director Michael Bay when he directed her to “be hot” or to “be sexy” on set. In that same interview, Fox said that Bay “wants to be like Hitler on his sets,” which drew controversy and overshadowed her comments about Bay’s questionable directives.
Later that year, Fox said in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel that on the set of Bad Boys II, when she was only 15 years old, that Bay ordered her to dance under a waterfall while wearing a bikini and six-inch heels.
Because of how her comments were received nearly a decade ago, Fox said she was scared to be an active participant in today’s cultural climate charged with female empowerment. She also suggested that her previous statements might have been “ahead of my time.”
“I don’t want to say this about myself, but let’s say that I was ahead of my time and so people weren’t able to understand. Instead, I was rejected because of qualities that are now being praised in other women coming forward,” Fox told The Times, adding that, because of her experience, she feels as though she’ll “always be just out of the collective understanding.”
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