Matthew Lawrence was fired by an agency after he refused to let the director make naked Polaroids of him
Matthew Lawrence says he was fired by his talent agency after refusing to take his clothes off for a director who wanted to take naked Polaroids of him.
Matthew, 43, opened up about the incident with him brotherly love podcast amid a discussion about harassment in Hollywood more than five years after the emergence of the #MeToo movement. (He did not specify who the director was or when the incident took place.)
The Abington Township, Pennsylvania-born actor spoke in detail to brothers Joey Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence on the podcast about the uncomfortable experience he had with a man he described as an Academy Award-winning filmmaker.
“I lost my desk because I went to the hotel room — where I can’t believe they’d send me there — of a very prominent Oscar-winning director who showed up in his robes, asked me to take my clothes off, and said he had to take Polaroids make me,” said Matthew.
The Ms. Doubtfire actor added that there were significant professional ramifications if he didn’t comply, including the loss of his talent agency – because, he said, he “left this director’s room” – as well as important professional opportunities.
The latest: Matthew Lawrence, 43, says he was fired by his talent agency after refusing to take his clothes off for a director who wanted to take naked Polaroids of him
“If I did X, Y, and Z, I’d be the next Marvel character,” said Matthew, who appeared as a child star on shows like Brotherly Love and Boy Meets World.
Matthew touched on the different aspects of gender when he spoke out about the predators lurking in Hollywood for decades, noting that “men go through this too.”
“In my opinion, not a lot of guys in the industry have come out and talked about this,” Lawrence said. “Granted, it’s probably about a third of what women go through.”
Matthew also brought up what he saw as a difference in public reactions to men coming forward rather than women, citing actor Terry Crews.
Crews in 2018 accused former William Morris Endeavor exec Adam Venit of groping him at a party two years earlier. Venit, who denied the allegations, was subsequently suspended and demoted in the aftermath of the situation.
Matthew said, “A lot of these stories have gone through a lot of my other male friends – both men and women in this industry – but double standards are being applied and this is where I’m taking Terry Crews.
He continued, “Terry Crews comes out and says it, people make fun of him. People don’t support him. They kick him out, why?
“Because he’s a man who represents masculinity, and I think our society is less willing to hear that situation with men than it is with women.”
The Abington Township, Pennsylvania-born actor detailed the awkward experience with a man he described as an Academy Award-winning filmmaker
The Ms. Doubtfire actor added that there were significant professional consequences if he didn’t comply, including the loss of his talent agency – because he said he “left this director’s room” – as well as important professional opportunities.
Matthew touched on the different aspects of gender as he spoke out about the predators lurking in Hollywood for decades, noting that “men go through this too”
Matthew was photographed last month with TLC’s Chilli Thomas at a dinner party celebrating Lifetime Black Excellence in LA
Matthew’s older brother Joey Lawrence said his reluctance to submit to the whims of show business predators has cost him many “big movie roles”
Joey Lawrence chimed in on the matter, noting that “there have been a lot of those crossroads” and difficult moments for artists who have faced harassment in the entertainment industry, adding, “We’ve all been a part of that.”
Citing his own experiences, Joey said his reluctance to submit to the whims of show business predators cost him many “big movie roles.”
He added: “For me those moments – and of course there were plenty of them – were just a matter of principle for me. I just wasn’t going to do it. And I lost a lot of parts too.
He said to Matthew, “And like you said, I know the guys who went through and they did, and I don’t know what situations they were in. I’m not even going to speculate. But I know it was set up in an infrastructure where that was expected.’