Megan Fox has opened up about her decision to step away from being a Hollywood star, revealing the challenges she faced in the film industry a decade ago. Back then, she was a highly sought-after actress with a burgeoning career but decided to take a break and return with a lower profile.
The hiatus was often attributed to Fox being difficult to work with, but now she has shared her perspective on those tumultuous years. In 2009, she virtually disappeared from the spotlight after making headlines for comparing director Michael Bay to Adolf Hitler, which led to her removal from the Transformers 3 project.
It's important to note that it was producer Steven Spielberg, not Bay, who insisted on her removal from the film. Megan clarified her statements by saying, “He wants to earn a reputation as a megalomaniac; it's a nightmare to work for him.” However, the damage was already done, and her reputation suffered a significant blow.
Nonetheless, Megan Fox's story has evolved since then. She recently spoke candidly about her struggles during those years, particularly the mental health challenges she faced as she refused to be reduced to just her physical appearance in the industry.
This turning point in her life occurred shortly before the release of Jennifer's Body, a horror-comedy in which she played a cheerleader possessed by the devil. The film promoted her as a sexy schoolgirl killing her classmates, an approach that left her deeply uncomfortable and led to her decision to take a step back.
Megan confessed, "I think I had a real psychological breakdown. I didn't want anyone to see me. I didn't want to take photos for magazines or walk red carpets." However, this experience was not exclusive to that film, as she had been grappling with these feelings for much of her career.
She continued, "I felt like this every day of my life, all the time, on every project I worked on and with every producer I met. What led me to collapse came from much earlier." Her fear stemmed from a belief that the public would mock, criticize, and attack her for daring to be herself.
Megan Fox's apprehension was largely due to her previous experiences, feeling hypersexualized and mistreated by the men she worked with. She expressed these concerns before the #MeToo movement gained prominence and felt that her message was misunderstood or dismissed.
In her words, "I was there talking out loud about everything that had happened to me, and the only response I got from everyone was, 'Oh, well, f**k him. We don't care, you deserve what happened to you.' They didn't care about my message; they only paid attention to my appearance, the clothes I wore, and the jokes I made at that time."
Fortunately, Megan found solace and a new chapter in her life through her relationship with actor Brian Austin Green, whom she married in 2010. They have three children together, and Megan describes motherhood as a transformative experience that allowed her to see herself in a new light and find a better version of herself with each child.
