Jesse Williams on the nudity of “Take Me Out”: “The theater is a sacred space and not everyone understands it”

Jesse Williams says he “doesn’t mind” having pictures and videos of him performing naked on Broadway. invite me to go outBut actors “must keep defending themselves” when it comes to protecting their own safety and performing on stage.

Speaking to the Associated Press Tony Awards: Meet the nominees At this Thursday’s event, the actress spoke about how she felt after images of her work were posted and circulated on the internet.

“I am not indifferent to that. “Our job is to go out every night, no matter what,” he said.

Though he said he couldn’t “sweat” what happened, he added, “We need to keep defending ourselves. And it’s wonderful to see the audience step back and make it clear what we’re doing and what we’re not doing.”

“The theater is a sacred space and not everyone understands it,” he added. “Not everyone necessarily respects or considers it possible, or wants to do it.”

Directed by Scott Ellis and written by Richard Greenberg, invite me to go out He stars as Williams Darren Lemming, an orthodox black gay center wing who has to deal with the backlash from the public and his staff after he comes out as gay. The show also features Patrick J. Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Michael Oberholzer, with Ferguson and Oberholzer earning tonal nominations for their performances alongside Williams on Monday.

Ex Gray’s anatomy The star and several other actors appeared nude in various scenes that take place in the locker room of a fictional baseball team. Williams called the show’s use of nudity “honest” and what “makes sense” in the context of Greenberg’s work. “It’s not a penalty. It works for the story. It puts the viewer in an interesting position of relating to the characters, of compassion.”

Prior to the leak, the second scene enforced a no-policy policy, whereby ticket holders must put their phones in locked Yondr pouches when entering the theater to prevent actors from being filmed for their safety. Audience members can unlock their phones when leaving the show.

This policy will continue as the theater says it will add additional security and an infrared view camera system, which is monitored in real-time by a second-stage protection team during shower scenes to prevent the use of cameras. The second phase also “actively implements takedown requests” and asked the public to refrain from releasing previously released footage of Williams.

“Taking nude photos of anyone without their consent is highly controversial and could have serious legal consequences,” the theater said in a statement posted to its Twitter account on Tuesday. “Publishing it on the Internet is a serious and unacceptable breach of trust in the theatrical community between actor and audience.

The leak of Williams’ footage was followed by a response from Actor’s Equity, which condemned “the strongest condemnation of the creation and distribution of photos and videos of our members during a nude scene”, as did several participants. This includes Ferguson, who On twitter That “I was shocked by the lack of respect for the actors in our company, whose vulnerability is crucial on stage every night. Invite me to go out. ”