The Broadway revival of the play Take Me Out has been a hot topic of conversation on social media in recent days, but it's not the production itself that has captured everyone's notice.
Rather, it's leaked nude videos of some of the play's stars during a scene that takes place in a locker room, with former Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams drawing particularly strong attention.
And another of the play's stars, Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, is speaking out in his costars' defense amid the furor over the mega-viral videos, which were illegally recorded by audience members.
Ferguson took to Twitter to express his anger at what he called "disrespect" of his costars' vulnerability.
See his statement below.
I'm appalled by the disrespect shown to the actors of our company whose vulnerability on stage ever night is crucial to Take Me Out. Anyone who applauds or trivializes this behavior has no place in the theater which has always been a safe space for artists & audience members.https://twitter.com/2stnyc/status/1524151193035063297\u00a0\u2026— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (he/him/his) (@Jesse Tyler Ferguson (he/him/his)) 1652221618
In a quote-tweet of the show's production company statement on the incident, Ferguson wrote:
"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."
"Anyone who applauds or trivializes this behavior has no place in the theater which has always been a safe space for artists & audience members."
In a follow-up tweet, Ferguson addressed those whose sole interest in the Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer-nominated play is the single, brief scene in which they can get a glimpse of Williams in the nude.
"And truly, if nudity is what you are coming for...you are in for a long boring night.
"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."
Far from the sort of Magic Mike-esque show the leaked videos may lead people to expect, Take Me Out tells the story of a major-league baseball player coming out as gay to his teammates and coach.
Such an event was as yet unknown in professional sports at the time of its writing and first production, and the play was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for its groundbreaking subject matter.
The current revival garnered four Tony Award nominations yesterday, including Best Actor noms for both Ferguson and Williams.
On Twitter, many applauded Ferguson for speaking out.
Outrageous. So sorry this happened. I\u2019ve always wondered why phones can\u2019t be collected at the beginning of the evening and returned at the end. If we can\u2019t trust audience member to do the right thing, perhaps they have to be treated like children.— Renee Foster \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Renee Foster \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1652223894
I'm not brave enough to agree to nudity in a role yet, and I have the highest respect for any actor or actress who is. My thoughts are with the victim of this complete violation, and I really hope they find the strength to carry on performing without too much mental stress xx— Lily Grace (@Lily Grace) 1652234353
Thank you for this post, Jesse. I am so very sorry these horrible acts took place, and the trust and privacy of the cast were violated. I hope there is an opportunity to legally prosecute the perpetrator to help deter this type of atrocious violation from occurring again.— Leslie Overton (@Leslie Overton) 1652277106
This. https://twitter.com/jessetyler/status/1524154054665986049\u00a0\u2026— Joseph James | JJ (@Joseph James | JJ) 1652363738
Anyone who isn\u2019t mad about this is garbage. Violating the artistic integrity of this actor, to say nothing of his personal space and choice in sharing his body, is a crime. Full stop.\nDO NOT share this video.\nDO NOT seek out this video.\nRespect people. Respect artists.https://twitter.com/jessetyler/status/1524154054665986049\u00a0\u2026— Farrin G. (@Farrin G.) 1652315704
Come on folks\u2026porn has its place but this isn\u2019t it. If consenting adults post themselves online, power to them! I support you and who you are. If actors are brave enough to bare all for the sake of their art and craft, let\u2019s respect it & not divert from the show\u2019s message.https://twitter.com/jessetyler/status/1524154054665986049\u00a0\u2026— Jake Richard Meyers (@Jake Richard Meyers) 1652291300
People are fucking gross. \n\nCan we PLEASE make etiquette and critical thinking classes mandatory?https://twitter.com/jessetyler/status/1524154054665986049\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udd94\ud835\udd91' \ud835\udd8b\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd93\ud835\udd88\ud835\udd9e \ud835\udd95\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd93\ud835\udd99\ud835\udd98 (@\ud835\udd94\ud835\udd91' \ud835\udd8b\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd93\ud835\udd88\ud835\udd9e \ud835\udd95\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd93\ud835\udd99\ud835\udd98) 1652302424
Amen @jessetyler. As a producer of video shoots for Broadway, touring and regional theatre, I feel protective of all artists and concerned about predators exploiting the profound vulnerability artists embody on stage (and off). Thank you for making this statement.https://twitter.com/jessetyler/status/1524154054665986049\u00a0\u2026— Scott Silberstein (@Scott Silberstein) 1652283517
It\u2019s wild to me that someone blatantly disrespected the rules this theater and show put in place to protect these actors so they could feel safe doing their job by not only filming a nude scene but then posting it on the internet.https://twitter.com/jessetyler/status/1524154054665986049\u00a0\u2026— Lizzie Kenslea (@Lizzie Kenslea) 1652232261
Shout it again for the people in the back!https://twitter.com/jessetyler/status/1524154054665986049\u00a0\u2026— Jim Joseph (@Jim Joseph) 1652274747
Actor's Equity, the trade union for theatre artists, has joined Ferguson in condemning the videos, calling them “sexual harassment and an appalling breach of consent."
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