Jesse Williams told Andy Cohen during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live that his naked body is ‘not that big of a deal.’
Williams, 40, became the victim of a nude photo leak after somebody broke the ‘no phone’ policy of his show Take Me Out. In one scene of the play, Williams appears fully naked.
As the pictures spread like wildfire throughout social media, Williams made an appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on May 9.
Williams told Cohen during the After Show portion of the program: ‘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.’
Following the leak, Second Stage Theater, the company running the production issued a statement saying: ‘It is deeply unfortunate that one audience member chose to disrespect the the production, their fellow audience members, and most importantly, the case in this matter.’
The statement continued: ‘Posting it on the internet is a gross and unacceptable violation of trust between the actor an audience forged in the theater community’
According to the statement, Second Stage will be adding additional staff to enforce their policies.
In Take Me Out, Williams portrays center fielder Darren Lemming who at the peak of his powers on the field for the fictional New York Empires, comes out as a homosexual.
A disclaimer on the official website for the play reads: ‘Please note: Take Me Out includes adult situations and nudity.’ Williams is the only actor who appears nude in on stage.
During the interview, Williams spoke about the various reactions he has received to being naked: ‘A non-reaction [from the audience] is a really interesting reaction. The quiet.’
When asked about which audience reaction he preferred, Williams said: ‘I don’t like any of it.’
Williams added that since the run began he has learned to not try to ‘read into’ the various different reactions his nude scene generates because it creates ‘more insecurity’ for him.
He later joked that he didn’t feel good about his penis looked on stage, which generated sympathetic groans from the audience.
A message on the Hayes Theatre’s website tells audience members that the show is a ‘phone-free space.’
The theater works with a company named Yondr that ‘uses a patented system to create phone-free spaces for artists.’
Williams, who left the role of Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy in May 2021, did appear shirtless on the show, which was the closest to nudity he’s gotten while performing.
The show’s executive producer Shonda Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly in July 2020, ‘We felt that having a shirtless Jackson Avery would be a benefit to society so we’re going to see a little bit of that early on in the season.’
Take Me Out runs on Broadway at the Hayes Theatre until June 11.
Williams, who left the role of Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy in May 2021, did appear shirtless on the show, which was the closest to nudity he’s gotten while performing.
The show’s executive producer Shonda Rhimes told Entertainment Weekly in July 2020, ‘We felt that having a shirtless Jackson Avery would be a benefit to society so we’re going to see a little bit of that early on in the season.’
Take Me Out runs on Broadway at the Hayes Theatre until June 11.