Jesse Williams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and some other cast members from the Broadway production Take Me Out appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Monday night. The play is about a closeted, gay baseball player.
In the After Show segment, Williams talked about the issue of nudity in the show. His comments came after the leak of a video of him naked. The clip comes from a locker room scene in the play.
Related: Nude, full-frontal video leak of Jesse Williams sends Twitter into meltdown
Take Me Out’s home, the Hayes Theater, has forbidden audience members from using their phones during the performance and requests cells be locked away in protective bags.
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The video went viral on Twitter, with many commenting on Williams’ extra-large manhood. Twitter has since scrambled to delete the re-posted images.
Williams brushed off the hoo-ha about the nudity.
“It’s a body, once you see it, you realize it’s whatever, it’s a boy! I just have to make it not that big of a deal.”
It was more of a big deal for Second Stage Theater, the company running the production. It issued a statement yesterday afternoon saying: “It is deeply unfortunate that one audience member chose to disrespect the production, their fellow audience members, and most importantly, the cast in this matter.
“Posting it on the internet is a gross and unacceptable violation of trust between the actor and audience forged in the theater community.”
Williams told Cohen he tried not to overthink any audience reaction to his nude scene, saying often people fall deadly silent during that part of the play.
“I’ve learned … don’t try and read into it, because it just creates more insecurities.”
Williams later joked that he didn’t feel good about how his penis looked on stage, which generated a handful of sympathetic groans from the audience.
Broadway star Jesse Williams dishes on audience reactions to his nude scenes in Take Me Out. #WWHL pic.twitter.com/w3zttHqqxJ
— WWHL (@BravoWWHL) May 10, 2022
Elsewhere in their conversation, Williams, who left Grey’s Anatomy in May 2021, confirmed that he would be returning for the upcoming, 400th episode, season finale, alongside Sarah Drew.
Related: Jesse Tyler Ferguson talks Broadway, baseball and LGBTQ rights
Jesse Tyler Ferguson also talked about Modern Family, saying there had been discussions about a Missouri-set spin-off focussing on gay husbands Mitch and Cam. Sadly, the network decided against it.
“We’d been on for 11 years and I think they were ready to move in a different direction,” Ferguson said by way of explanation, prompting Cohen to joke that Hulu needs new programming ideas.
Jim
Good lord onstage nudity is not big thing.
Can you say: Hair, Equus, The Lisbon Traviata,etc. etc etc.
Move on
Larry McD
I think it’s less the nudity than the violation of custom and contract to take photographs of plays in progress and then publish them online regardless of the content.
Man About Town
Yo Dave: “Take Me Out” is NOT about a “closeted gay baseball player” — the character came out of the closet at a press conference BEFORE the play even begins. Way to do your homework.
Saps48
Hey, don’t expect any corrections or updates; I think this site runs itself, without any editorial supervision or accountability.
bachy
Jesse Williams has been leaning hard on my Hot-Sex-O-Meter for a decade, so when I heard about this leak I am chagrined to admit that I got online and searched down that image like a truffle-seeking hog! WOW!!! Oh YEAH babydaddy!!!
But I am here to submit my apology to the production, the audience members, and most importantly, Jesse and the cast of ‘Take Me Out.’ I couldn’t help myself!
I will be entering the Freek A Leek Sex Detox Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles on Thursday.
[email protected]
Why are Americans such prudes?
Janet Jackson flashes a breast at a Super Bowl game or a film shows full male nudity and you would think the nation will collapse.
Are there any nude beaches in the States? Or have they all been shut down by the morality police?
Kangol2
Janet Jackson didn’t flash a breast, Justin Timberlake RIPPED OFF her breastplate, exposing her breast. Why does everyone let him off the hook and blame her???
Kangol2
Having seen a number of plays with onstage nudity I will say it is still fairly rare to see the images circulating on social media. It’s quite different with TV shows and films, especially those broadcast on TV or streaming services. It’s also fairly rare to see a very well known Black (or other BIPOC) actor appearing nude in a play and have those images circulate, so I get the shock of some people over this. I’m most amazed by the Twitter folks who are surprised there’s nudity on Broadway or any stages. It’s as if they had no clue about quite a few plays written since the 1960s!