When Michael Bay’s first Transformers movie hit theaters, a new name sprung onto the Hollywood scene: Megan Fox. At 21 years old, the actress revved up engines with her bedazzling beauty and swiftly became a sex symbol of the action franchise. Looking back on her grand entrance to the public sphere, Fox admits it brought about some dark times.
In celebration of the tenth anniversary of cult-horror flick Jennifer’s Body, Megan Fox and writer Diablo Cody reflected on the release, which flopped and was demonized at the time. Having top billing in a movie such as Jennifer’s Body that ultimately bombed may have hit other actors hard, but Fox said that her relationship with the public was so charged at the time, "it was just part of the mix." In her words:
It wasn't just that movie, it was everyday of my life, all the time, with every project I worked on and every producer I worked with. It preceded a breaking point for me. I think I had a genuine psychological breakdown where I wanted just nothing to do.
It couldn’t have been easy to be objectifyed and sexualized as constantly as Megan Fox was at the time. She was a young talent entering the public eye with a lot more conversations circling around her appearances than any of her other attributes to the industry. She continued to ET with the following:
I didn't want to be seen, I didn't want to have to take a photo, do a magazine, walk a carpet, I didn't want to be seen in public at all because the fear, and the belief, and the absolute certainty that I was going to be mocked, or spat at, or someone was going to yell at me, or people would stone me or savage me for just being out… so I went through a very dark moment after that.
The actress was also subject to constant dating gossip about co-star Shia LaBeouf (and yes, they did actually date) and ill words about Michael Bay, who she characterized as “Hitler” on set. All the while, she was being voted the “sexiest woman in the world” and posters of her were being plastered on bedroom walls.
In hindsight, she considers her breakout period a personal low point in her career. When she was able to move away from the Transformers franchise and start a family with husband Brian Austin Green, she gained perspective and has since moved on to projects such as New Girl and her recent documentary series Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox.
10 years later, Jennifer’s Body has been embraced by a new wave of fans who celebrate its attention to sexual harassment and sexual objectification. It sounds like a re-watch is in order!
