Jesse Williams Responds To Being Naked In Broadway’s “Take Me Out” After THAT Video Went Viral
The upside of this story is that at least Jesse Williams isn’t trending on Twitter for his messy ongoing child support payment drama with his ex-wife, so that’s something, right? Because I think all our eyeballs could appreciate a break on that situation. Instead, eyeballs have been glued to a part of Jesse’s (AGGRESSIVE THROAT CLEARING SOUND) anatomy. Plenty of people have seen Jesse’s junk in the play Take Me Out, due to an on-stage shower scene. But those people usually have to pay for a ticket to see such a thing. Recently, a whole lot of people on the internet paid $0 for the chance to see a low-resolution clip of Jesse in Broadway action, which is a pretty big no no, considering theaters are pretty adamant that no one inside should be secretly camming the performance.
Audience members are reportedly forced to lock up their phones before seeing the Take Me Out revival and it’s all because of the onstage nakedness. But someone really jumped through the hoops presented to them, in order to get footage of Jesse’s footlong sub. Jesse just received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, for the revival of the 2002 play Take Me Out, where he plays a gay baseball player. As mentioned above, there’s a tense-ish scene in the shower between Jesse’s character and a new player on his team, who happens to be a hateful homophobe and racist. That should be enough to have the audience muttering “Damn,” but the internet is saying “DAMN” for a whole other reason, and that reason is penis-based. According to The New York Post, a video featuring a naked Jesse was spread everywhere on Twitter. But it never should have seen the light of social media, because Broadway is usually very strict about taping live plays. via The New York Post:
All spectators are required to place their phones and smart devices in a sealed Yondr case before the show “out of respect and support for our actors and in order to create a phone-free space,” according to 2nd Stage Theater’s website.
The case can only be reopened by placing it on an unlocking tab in the lobby.
That means that someone either didn’t slip their phone into a Yondr case, or they might have slipped a decoy in and kept another phone on them. Or who knows, maybe this footage was obtained via a hidden video camera clipped into an awkward-looking hat, borrowed from John Quiñones and the What Would You Do? crew. Regardless of how that video made it from the orchestra level seats to the internet, the internet has already awarded Jesse an honorary Tony for Best Use of Crotch in a Play.
Hey why is everyone talking about Jesse Willi- pic.twitter.com/RuNkpLYV2f
— la negra tiene tumbao (@beequammie) May 10, 2022
If I buy this ticket to see Jesse Williams on Broadway and the understudy there that night … pic.twitter.com/Pu3igWsmRk
— Browns KING irl (@DarccLight) May 10, 2022
Whoever took one for the team and snuck camera to broadway to give us these Jesse Williams videos, thanks pic.twitter.com/T4z3caBloe
— Jonathan Bailey’s Emmy Campaign Manager (@sameolegal) May 9, 2022
Jesse Williams himself appeared on Watch What Happens Live! last night to talk about the play and his Tony nomination. They didn’t talk about the penis leak, although I’m sure Jesse probably isn’t cool with whoever decided to channel their inner Spielberg during that specific performance. But he did talk about getting naked, and it’s not really a big deal to him. via Page Six:
“Everybody around me [was] going, ‘Are you serious? Are you sure? Nude, nude? Naked, naked? Front?’ Everybody makes such a big deal…It’s a body. Once you see it, you realize [it’s] whatever. It’s a body!”
“I’m told it’s quite insane, but it’s a first, so I have nothing to compare it to,” he acknowledged. “And I won’t be scared of anything after this.”
Broadway star Jesse Williams dishes on audience reactions to his nude scenes in Take Me Out. #WWHL pic.twitter.com/w3zttHqqxJ
— WWHL (@BravoWWHL) May 10, 2022
It’s true that it’s just a body. Hell, we’re all just big bags of skin filled with bones and guts and partially digested foods! Some of us just happen to be prettier than others. With that being said, I would not be surprised if this subject is brought up at Jesse’s next custody payment showdown. Last month, Jesse was awarded a temporary decrease in child support, due to his smaller paycheck on Broadway. But after we’ve all seen that video? And especially since that video wasn’t as clear as in real life? Something tells me that paycheck won’t be small for long. There’s going to be a lineup around the block filled with out-of-towners asking, “Is this the play where you see Jesse Williams’ naked? I’ll pay double, no, triple the box office ticket price!”
Pic: INSTARimages