Amanda Seyfried revealed that she had felt pressured to perform nude scenes as a teenager because she wanted to "keep her job".
Speaking to Porter magazine, the Mamma Mia! actor reflected on the early days of her career in acting, commenting on the "uncomfortable positions" she was placed in.
Despite admitting that she came out of the #MeToo era "pretty unscathed", Seyfried did comment on one moment during her early career, saying: "Being 19, walking around without my underwear on – like, are you kidding me? How did I let that happen?"
"Oh, I know why: I was 19 and I didn’t want to upset anybody, and I wanted to keep my job. That’s why," she added.
It was around this time that the now-36-year-old landed her breakout role alongside Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls, which has become a cult-favorite due to its hilarious one-liners and memorable characters. Her role as dim-but-loveable Karen Smith in the film, written by Tina Fey, swiftly made her a household name.
However, despite the movie's legacy, Seyfried has previously spoken out about how she felt "grossed out" by male fans who would ask her for the weather report, because her character would be able to tell if it was raining by groping her breasts.
In an interview with Marie Claire, the mom-of-two said that "I was like 18 years old. It was just gross."
A lot has changed since Seyfried started her career nearly twenty years ago. In fact, new industry requirements - such as on-set intimacy coordinators - have created an environment where actors are more able to speak up against injustices and be guided through scenes they may have found uncomfortable to film.
The presence of intimacy coordinators was approved by the Screen Actors Guild, who say that it "greatly improves safety and well-being on sets and in productions requiring intimate scenes."
Recently, Game of Thrones actor, Sean Bean, sparked controversy after voicing his dislike of this requirement. The Times of London published an interview with the actor, in which he said that the presence of these coordinators "spoil the spontaneity" of intimate scenes.
West Side Story star Rachel Zegler responded to Bean's comments by declaring that "spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe."
In recent years, Seyfried has been raw and honest about her experiences in the acting industry. In February, she spoke on Jimmy Kimmel Live! about her wardrobe malfunction at the Mean Girls premiere, when she realized the flashing lights of the cameras made her dress see-through.
When asked why she had no one to help her with an outfit choice, she said: "I slipped through the cracks because I didn’t ever ask for anything, because I thought I was in the way, which is not the way I want to raise my daughter, for sure [...] But people liked me because I was easy."
In her interview with Porter, the actor now says: "Nothing can crush me completely, when it comes to work. I’m uncrushable!"
And uncrushable she is! Seyfried has been nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy for her portrayal as disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu series The Dropout.
