Megan Fox (40) Saw the Backlash Coming Over That ‘Jennifer’s Body’ Scene, and She Wasn’t Happy About It
Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers’ turned Megan Fox into a global sex symbol almost overnight. The image that came with it followed her into every project afterward, and it shaped how audiences and studios saw her. Few films show that better than ‘Jennifer’s Body.’
The 2009 horror-comedy was written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. Fox stars as Jennifer Check, a popular cheerleader possessed by a demon, opposite Amanda Seyfried as her best friend, Needy. Today it is widely regarded as a smart feminist horror film, but that reputation took years to build.
Fox has long argued that the way the movie was sold is a textbook example of the problem she kept running into. Looking back, she says she knew trouble was coming the moment she learned that she and Seyfried would have to film a kiss scene.
Fox has said she and Seyfried were horrified at the idea of filming the make-out scene, with Seyfried being the more reluctant of the two. They were also stressed about a very practical problem, since both had breakouts and the camera was going to be extremely close. She admitted she wasn’t even sure whether anyone painted the blemishes out.
The deeper worry was what the studio would do with it. In Fox’s view, the studio would turn the scene into a sensational selling point rather than treat it as part of the story. She didn’t think anyone would understand the intent behind it, and she felt the film would never be allowed to be what it actually was.
That fear proved right. The campaign leaned heavily on Fox’s sex appeal, with posters featuring her in minimal clothing and trailers that played up the kiss. The result was a film that looked like a vapid vehicle for male viewers rather than the dark satire its creators had written.
The numbers show how badly the pitch missed. The film cost about $16 million to make and grossed about $31.6 million worldwide, after an opening weekend of $6.8 million. Reviews were mixed, and the movie was widely seen as a missed opportunity.
Seyfried has been open about her own mixed feelings. She told W magazine the kiss was actually quite sexy on screen and that she was proud of how the two of them pulled it off. She also said the scene was done for the masses and that, sadly, the masses never showed up.
The scene matters to the plot, too. It is the moment Needy realizes the demon who seduces and kills boys has taken over her friend. Seyfried understood that the studio would use it as a marketing hook anyway, and she now looks back on the situation with a sense of humor.
For Fox, the film was one piece of a much larger pattern. She told Entertainment Tonight in 2019 that “it wasn’t just that movie” but something that followed her through every project and every producer. She described reaching a breaking point and a genuine psychological breakdown, which she said eased only after she became a mother.
She has also said that the changes brought about by the #MeToo movement never fully included her. She felt she had spoken out about sexualization before the movement existed and was mocked for it. Even now, she says, she still faces disrespect.
The reappraisal of ‘Jennifer’s Body’ has been dramatic. Critics now describe it as a feminist cult classic, praised for its take on the male gaze and female friendship. Kusama has confirmed that Cody is working on a follow-up.
Do you think Jennifer’s Body would have been more successful if it had been marketed differently?
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