Former child star Matthew Lawrence said he lost his role in a Marvel film after he refused the director's sexual advances to strip down for him.
On Friday's episode of the Brotherly Love Podcast, co-hosted by his brothers and fellow actors Joey and Andrew, he talked about the stigma associated with men experiencing sexual abuse and harassment in the entertainment industry, especially during the early days of the #MeToo movement.
He opened up about his experience with sexual harassment, sharing the time he went to the hotel room of an unnamed director who was allegedly involved in a Marvel movie and was asked to take his clothes off so that he could pose nude for Polaroid photos, which he refused to do.
He said he not only lost out on being cast for the role but also got fired by his agency, whom he did not reference by name.
"I’ve lost my agency because I went to the hotel room, which I can’t believe they would send me to, of a very prominent Oscar award-winning director who showed up in his robe, asked me to take my clothes off and said he needed to take Polaroids of me," Lawrence said. "And then if I did X, Y and Z, I would be the next Marvel character. I didn’t do that, and my agency fired me because I left this director’s room."
"I didn't do that, and my agency fired me because I left this director's room," he continued.
Lawrence then pointed out the double standards of how sexual harassment is handled between female and male victims. He said that when Terry Crews publicly accused WME agent Adam Venit groping him, "everyone laughed at him" because "our society is less ready to hear that situation going on with men than they are with women."
"It is a real thing, the casting couch," he said. "We all know it's existed... Not a lot of guys have come out and talked about this in the industry."
Back in 2017, spurred to speak out as allegations were raised against Harvey Weinstein, Crews tweeted that he was groped at an industry function the previous year, and it was later revealed that he was talking about Venit. Crews said at the time that he didn't report the incident due to fear of retaliation. He also filed a lawsuit against Venit, who left WME, although the charges were dismissed.
Lawrence is known for playing the son of Robin Williams' character in the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire and Jack Hunter in Boy Meets World, which aired on ABC from 1993 to 2000. He also starred in the NBC (and eventually The WB) sitcom Brotherly Love, which his podcast is named after.
Thumbnail credit: David Becker/Getty Images
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
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