Former Greys Anatomy star Jesse Williams is now a Broadway star, in his new gig he plays a baseball player struggling to fit as a gay person of colour.

Recently during one of the shows, an audience member took a video of Jesse on stage during his nude scene and posted it to Twitter. In Take Me Out there is a scene where Jesse and a co-star go completely nude with no coverage or prosthetics.

Now a few days later, many celebrities and Jesse himself have commented on the situation, which was a very unexpected response. Jesse said, “I’m not down about it, our job is to go out there every night, no matter what… I’m not really worrying about it. I can’t sweat that.”

Although this isn’t a response we were expecting, Jesse’s co-star and former Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Fergusen spoke out on behalf of his friend about the non-consensual act that took place. Fergusen said “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 behaviour has no place in the theatre which has always been a safe space for artists & audience members.”

Jesse Williams Instagram

Now that the nude photos and videos have been leaked, and the privacy of Jesse, the rest of the cast and the show itself are in a vulnerable position, the theatre company has stated a message on their website regarding their no phone policy.

The website states, “Out of respect and support for our actors and in order to create a phone-free environment, Second Stage will be working with Yondr for all performances of Take Me Out. Upon arrival at the Hayes, all phones and smart watches are placed in Yondr cases by our staff and will be unlocked at the end of the show.”

A Yondr case is used in many entertainment situations, art shows, concerts, movie theatres and more, where the company needs to make sure that the contents of the production are not videotaped and leaked to the public.

Now, with the leaked photos, the theatre company and Yondr will work together to protect the privacy of the actors and the show.

Article published by HOLR Magazine