Actors Equity Association Labels Jesse Williams Nude Scene Leak Sexual Harassment
The association also calls out an audience member who secretly videotaped the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ actor’s nude scene while performing in ‘Take Me Out’ at the Second Stage Theater in NYC.
AceShowbiz -Actors’ Equity Association has reacted to Jesse Williams‘ nude scene leak. In their statement, they described the leaked footage as “sexual harassment” towards the “Grey’s Anatomy” actor.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the creation and distribution of photographs and videos of our members during a nude scene,” Kate Shindle, president of Actors’ Equity Association, stated in a statement shared on Tuesday, May 10. “As actors, we regularly agree to be vulnerable onstage in order to tell difficult and challenging stories. This does not mean that we agree to have those vulnerable moments widely shared by anyone who feels like sneaking a recording device into the theater.”
The statement went on to read, “At every performance, there is a mutual understanding between the audience and the performers that we are sharing an experience limited to this time and place; that trust makes it possible for us to be exposed both emotionally and physically.” The note later labeled the act “both sexual harassment and an appalling breach of consent.”
Actors’ Equity further noted that the person who filmed the 40-year-old actor and other actors on stage did so “without their consent.” They then condemned the audience member for “explicitly violating the theater’s prohibition on recording and distribution,” before concluding, “It is a violation that impedes our collective ability to tell stories with boldness and bravery.”
The show’s producer, Second Stage Theater, also released a statement, referencing its “phone-free” policy for the show “with locked phone cases at all performances.” The statement read, “We are appalled that this policy has been violated and unauthorized footage of our acting company has been posted.”
“It is deeply unfortunate that one audience member chose to disrespect the production, their fellow audience members and, most importantly, the cast in this manner,” the message added. “Taking naked pictures of anyone without their consent is highly objectionable and can have severe legal consequences.”
Second Stage also described “posting [the nude scene] on the internet” as “a gross and unacceptable violation of trust between the actor and audience forged in the theater community.” The theater company added that they’re currently working on getting the posts removed.
On Tuesday, Jesse Williams’ co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson also released a statement, condemning the illegal recording. “I’m appalled by the disrespect shown to the actors of our company whose vulnerability on stage every night is crucial to ‘Take Me Out’,” he tweeted. “Anyone who applauds or trivializes this behavior has no place in the theater which has always been a safe space for artists & audience members.”
“And truly, if nudity is what you are coming for…you are in for a long boring night,” Jesse Tyler added in a separate post. “It’s within a challenging 2 and a half hour play with big ideas, beautiful language & remarkable acting from a company of 11 actors that you will have to sit thru as well. You’ll be bored. Trust.”
The said footage was taken from a shower scene where most of the cast, including Patrick J. Adams and Jesse Tyler, went fully naked. However, it only showed Jesse Williams’ full body. The video itself leaked hours after he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play.
In the Monday, May 9 episode of “Watch What Happens Live“, Jesse spoke about the scene. When asked by host Andy Cohen about stripping down in front of an audience every night, the actor coyly replied, “Everyone around me [was] going, ‘Are you serious? Are you sure? Nude, nude? Naked?’ And everybody makes such a big deal. It’s a body. Once you see it, you realize, whatever. It’s a body. I just have to not make it that big of a deal.”
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