Jesse Williams | On Monday, social media users shared full-frontal footage taken during a shower scene in the play about a gay professional baseball player coming out to his teammates and to the press. Broadway premiered the play last month.
Williams, 40, received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play on the same day the footage dropped.
Before the show, all spectators must place their smartphones and tablets inside sealed Yondr cases “out of respect and support for our actors and to create a phone-free environment,” according to the theater’s website.
You can only reopen a case by placing it on an unlocking tab in the lobby. Twitter users reacted quickly to the leak, thanking the sneaky photographer and suggesting Williams pursue a second career.
Williams recently admitted he was “terrified” about putting his body on display for the show, but then noted that that was exactly what he asked God for. “I asked to be terrified. I asked to do something that was scary and challenging and made me earn it and made me feel alive and not comfortable.”
Representatives for Williams and the Broadway show have been contacted for comment on the photos.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Williams discussed their “Take Me Out” controversy on “Watch What Happens Live” on Bravo on Monday night.
“It’s a body — once you see it, you realize it’s whatever, it’s a body,” Williams told host Cohen. “I just have to make it not that big of a deal.”
Cohen asked Jesse if it helps when an actor can “feel good” about their bodies before revealing all onstage. “I would think so – I don’t, so I don’t know,” he replied with a smile.
