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Megan Fox currently hosts a new Travel Channel series, Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox, in which she proudly lets her archaeology nerd-freak-flag fly. Part of the gig’s related duties involve publicity rounds, so she’s given an array of interviews, including one with the New York Times that has produced a telling realization — Megan Fox doesn’t feel comfortable enough to join the #MeToo movement despite having endured treatment relevant to the cause.
One can’t help but reflect upon where she’s coming from. When Fox first hit the big screen in Transformers, she was very young and not terribly eloquent, so people dismissed her as a sexpot. Further, her blowout with director Michael Bay wasn’t pretty on either end. She publicly called him Hitler-esque at one point, and he really did make her wash his car as part of her audition. The two smoothed things over enough to work together again on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films, but her “difficult” reputation was forever cemented. So she decided to stop stirring things up, other than a recent interview where she commented on gender pay disparity. Yet when NY Times writer Kathryn Shattuck broached the #MeToo subject, Fox explained that she didn’t join the movement because she felt that (based upon how people, including feminists, had previously received her) she wouldn’t be treated sympathetically:
Even with the #MeToo movement, and everyone coming out with stories — and one could assume that I probably have quite a few stories, and I do — I didn’t speak out for many reasons. I just didn’t think based on how I’d been received by people, and by feminists, that I would be a sympathetic victim. 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 further explained that she’s keen to look toward the future and raise her three sons well enough so that they respect women. She also detailed how she felt that her own words were weaponized against her, so that led her to become a very private person. Of course, it’s certainly up to any individual person as to whether or not to speak about painful experiences from the past. However, Fox doesn’t think she’ll ever be considered relatable enough to be believed, but she emphasizes that “I was rejected because of qualities that are now being praised in other women coming forward.” That’s sad and a bit frightening, but you can read her full interview here.
(Via New York Times)