A NEW YORK — After a video and photos of his naked stage performance in the Broadway production “Take Me Out” were released online, Jesse Williams promised he would not be deterred.
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Jesse Williams Take Me Out Nude Video Leaker Ripped By
The show’s producers and the union that represents the cast and crew have spoken out against the leak.
The truth is, I’m not that concerned about it. That’s not something I have time to worry about. We must persist in speaking up for ourselves. And it’s great to see a community fight back and make it plain what we do stand for and what we don’t,” Williams said.
“I realised the significance of consent. So, everyone should bear that in mind.
Williams stars in the revival of Richard Greenberg’s “Take Me Out,” playing gay baseball pitcher Darren Lemming who is dealing with life after coming out.
In 2003, during its initial run, “Take Me Out” was honoured with the Tony Award for best play. In 2022, Williams might potentially win another Tony Award for the Broadway production.
In recognition of his outstanding performance as a featured actor in a play, the “Grey’s Anatomy” star was nominated for a Tony Award on Monday. His “Take Me Out” co-stars Ferguson and Michael Oberholtzer also compete in the same category as him.
Second Stage Theater, which is putting on the “Take Me Out” revival, owns the Hayes Theater, where the event occurred.
Even though cell phones are not permitted at the New York City theatre without the use of Yondr bags, someone managed to sneak in theirs during the performance of the Tony Award-nominated show. Photos and videos of Williams started going viral on the internet on Monday night.
When Asked About the Infringement, Producers Indicated they would Increase Security.
Everyone fails to recognise that the theatre is a holy place. Williams remarked that “not everyone respects or regards that in a way that perhaps they should or we’d want.”
Williams claims that he was asked to star in the play’s revival while he was already a prominent figure in the medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” but that it wasn’t until he read the script that he understood it featured a scene of nudity.
Somebody should have just come out and said, “Hey, it’s a play about nudity,” and the whole thing would have been presented differently. The lack of clothing, however, is not a coverup. Logic dictates that this must be the case.
The content is not sexual in nature. It’s necessary for the plot. “It really puts the reader in a great place to connect with and care about the characters,” Williams added.
After Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap to Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle’s Hollywood Bowl attack, the leaked footage is the latest occasion in which a performer’s privacy or safety has been compromised.
Co-star Michael Oberholtzer, who was nominated for a Tony Award on the same day as Williams, expressed his “extremely disappointment” at the turn of events.
As the quote from the article above states, “people feel that they may say and do things because they pay for entry or because they are a subscription member or whatever the situation may be.
However, that’s not the case. In his opinion, as expressed by Oberholtzer, this constitutes an infringement on the rights of the parties involved.
Co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson criticised the audience member who recorded the scene from “Take Me Out,” as did Second Stage Theater and the Actors’ Equity Association.
On Tuesday, Ferguson ripped on the patron for their “disrespect” for the show’s employees.
Ferguson wrote on Twitter, “I’m shocked by the contempt exhibited to the actors in our company whose vulnerability on stage (every) night is fundamental to ‘Take Me Out.'”
The theatre, he went on, “has always been a safe area for artists and audience members. Anyone who applauds or trivialises this behaviour has no place in the theatre.”
As the “Modern Family” actor put it, “you are in for a boring night” if nudity is the sole draw. As a joke, he warned the audience that “great concepts, exquisite language, and remarkable acting” were in store.
On Tuesday, Second Stage Theater issued a similar statement, saying that the theatre is attempting to have the video deleted from multiple platforms and that there will be additional employees circulating during shows to guarantee that no new recordings are made.
“It is really sad that one audience member chose to insult the performance, their fellow audience members, and most importantly, the performers in this manner,” the statement read.
Last Words
Taking photos of another person when they are undressed without their permission is highly offensive and illegal. The confidence that is established between an actor and an audience in the theatre is irreparably damaged when the performance is posted online.
As of Tuesday, the Players’ Equity Association, a national labour union for live theatre actors and stage managers, had issued a statement calling the incident “both sexual harassment and an egregious breach of permission.”
