Megan Fox at the 2021 Met Gala.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue (Getty Images)
Since starring in blockbuster hits like Michael Bay’s Transformers movies and Karyn Kusama’s horror comedy Jennifer’s Body, Megan Fox has enjoyed something of a cultural resurgence. Her portrayal of the demon-possessed teenager with an appetite for boys in Jennifer’s Body has achieved cult status for a new generation of film lovers and breathed new life into the scathing horror film that was badly misunderstood by critics in 2009.
Along with Jennifer’s body, perceptions of Fox have also changed due to media coverage of her in the 2000s. From the hyper fixation on her body after being considered a sex symbol, to the backlash Fox faced when she spoke about her experiences on film sets, it’s easier in 2o22 to see the misogyny she faced on a daily basis .
In a recent cover interview with Glamor UK, Fox describes the difficulties she encountered in the 2000s when she denounced sexist practices.
“I think I was ahead of the #MeToo movement by almost a decade,” Fox explains. “I’ve always spoken out against some of the abusive, misogynist, patriarchal things that were going on in Hollywood in 2008 and 2009 long before people were willing to accept or tolerate it. And I was actually mocked for it. I think people just had time to check that out in hindsight.”
Fox says she was concerned about speaking out about her “really harrowing experiences in a ruthlessly misogynistic industry,” adding that she didn’t feel like a “very sympathetic victim” to feminists at the time.
“I didn’t feel accepted by much of the feminist community,” Fox continues. “What I provoke in them they cannot digest very well. And that comes back to me as they reject me for those reasons.”
This feeling of being “dehumanized” led to a “mental breakdown” at the time, according to Fox, which caused her to avoid public life for many years.
“I wasn’t allowed to be human because I was a topic of conversation, gossip and punchlines,” adds Fox. “I essentially hid myself for several years of my life.”
While she’s currently hailed as a feminist in 2022, Fox said she still faces criticism for certain things, like calling her fiancé Machine Gun Kelly “daddy” on the red carpet at an MTV VMAs — something , which rocked the internet.
“A lot of people got upset about what I think is a fun conversation because it’s about allowing women to be … women,” Fox pointed out. “To allow us to experience what we want in life, what we like. That’s feminism.”