Matthew Lawrence says he believes he was dumped by an agency after refusing to comply with a famous Hollywood director’s request that he remove his clothes during a hotel room meeting.
Boy Meets World actor details his experiences in a recent episode of Brotherly Love Podcast, talking with his brothers Joey and Andrew Lawrence about #MeToo sports and the harassment men and women face in the industry.
“It doesn’t seem to me that many people in the industry are coming out and talking about this,” he began. “Now admitting it, I’d say it’s maybe a third of what women go through… [but] men go through it too.”
Lawrence went on to explain, Several times in his life, those in power “suggested that he play an important role.”
He recalls one time he “lost my agency because I went to a hotel room – I can’t believe they sent me – a very famous Oscar The award-winning director showed up in his gown and asked me to take my clothes off.”
He added that the director, whom he did not name, told him “he needs to take a Polaroid of me, And then if I do X, Y, and Z, I’ll be the next Marvel character.” Lawrence said he ended up leaving the hotel room, which he believes is why his agency (who also didn’t name him) fired him.
Mrs. Doubtfire Actor says there is a huge “double standard” in the industry to Terry Crews as an example. In 2017 Crew accuses WME Agent Adam Venit of harassing him In , the actor claims his manager squeezed his genitals at a party. He later sued the agency and settled the lawsuit The following year, with Venit leaving WME. About his story, “People were laughing at him. People didn’t support him. They threw him out. Why? Because he was a man who represented manhood, and I think our society is actually more reluctant to hear what happens to men. What happens to women, not what happens to women.”
Joey Lawrence followed up, backing his brother’s thinking. “When those moments came up, there were a lot of … it was just a big thing for me. I just didn’t want to do it,” he said. “I’ve lost a lot of parts too. … Like you said, I know people who continue to do these things, but I don’t know what they’ve been driven into. I won’t even speculate. But I know it’s in Built in an infrastructure that met expectations.”
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Lawrence’s representatives for additional comment.
