During an Oct. 25 screening of ‘Jennifer’s Body’ held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Megan Fox talked about the “ruthless” paparazzi experiences she faced at the height of her stardom in 2009 and the inner “anger and rage” that came with it.
In the 2009 comedy-horror film Jennifer’s Body, Megan Fox’s character was certainly battling demons. But in real life, it turns out Fox was also battling some demons of her own at the time: namely the “ruthless” paparazzi.
During a special screening of Jennifer’s Body this past weekend, the 39-year-old-actress revealed just how much rage and sorrow she was carrying during the film’s original 2009 press tour.
While stepping out at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Oct. 25 in a fittingly bloody-chic dress, Fox reflected on the dark side of her sudden, stratospheric fame that surrounded the film. While the movie has gained a cult following today, the actress revealed that she was “so lost” and struggling with “anger and rage” in a period where she felt constantly “persecuted” by the industry and the media machine.
She shared a harrowing anecdote from a premiere around that time that perfectly encapsulates the “ruthless” treatment she faced from the photographers scrambling to get a shot.
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“I just left a premiere for something where I had to go — I’m obligated to go — and I remember the paparazzi were so ruthless back then—the way they would talk to women,” Fox recalled at the screening, per a report from People. “And I walked out just to try to get to my car, and they’re all shooting.”
The verbal assault that followed proved just how savage the photographers’ questions were at the time. She recalled the brutal jabs hurled at her, demanding to know why she was there in the first place. “And one guy’s like, ‘Megan, why are you such a bitch?’ And another guy is like, ‘Megan, do you think you’re overrated? The internet says so,’ and I’m just trying to do my job,” she stated.
It was this unrelenting negativity she channeled into her role as the man-eating demon/cheerleader Jennifer Check.
The star — who had just catapulted to stardom due to her role in 2007’s Transformers — admitted that her on-set performance was a necessary release valve for the emotional turmoil she was experiencing off-screen.
“I was asked to be at this premiere. I’m trying to get to my car,” Fox explained. “And so I had all of this grief and sorrow and also anger and rage that needed a place to go. “
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Ultimately, the role gave her the permission she didn’t have in her real life to fight back, at least artistically.
Fox went on to say that embodying the character allowed her to tap into a “darker feminine energy that no one really wants to allow” and express the parts of herself that were “unhinged,” even if it was only “in between takes.”
It was a deeply healing process, she said, calling the whole experience “very cathartic.” She noted that the younger, struggling version of herself was necessary to deliver the performance that fans would eventually cling to. “If I had been able to warn myself or give myself advice or have any sort of grounding or clarity, I don’t think you would’ve gotten the performance that you got,” Fox said.
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