We’re still recovering from the shock of Megan Fox’s much-hyped departure from Hollywood. Before we knew it, she was posing for Vanity Fair’s annual beach issue wearing a swimsuit that wasn’t entirely modest.
Then came the even more shocking news that Twilight star Robert Pattinson had allegedly gotten physical with Fox. Although there have been no formal charges filed, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirmed that it is investigating the claims.
Now, it would be quite the scandal if, in fact, Pattinson had physically assaulted Fox. However, given their close relationship and the fact that Pattinson was allegedly impaired at the time of the incident, the circumstances behind the altercation are rather murky. What we do know for sure is that after the incident, the couple decided to call it quits and go their separate ways.
So, in the wake of Megan Fox’s scandalous departure, her status in Hollywood was, and still is, quite the open question. While some people are bound to come out of this rather ugly incident with their careers intact, there is no question that Megan Fox’s place in Hollywood – and in the spotlight, more broadly – is now very much in doubt. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Fox said she is “moving forward” but expressed some reservations about her future in Hollywood.
Why Megan Fox’s Career In Hollywood Is In Jeopardy
To be able to assess the current status of Megan Fox’s career, it’s important to step back and take a look at the circumstances surrounding her sensational departure from Hollywood. We’ll briefly touch on some of the major factors that might put a dent in her future as an actress, but it would be wise to also consider some of the less tangible – and perhaps more telling – factors that might signal the end of her career in Hollywood.
The first and most obvious factor that could end up being a career breaker for Megan Fox is the allegation that she was physically assaulted by Twilight star Robert Pattinson. Although Fox has never been one to mince words and won’t hesitate to criticize celebrities she feels is undeserving of their position in life (as evidenced by her scathing Twitter takedown of Pattinson after the alleged assault took place), it’s fair to say that the Megan Fox we’ve seen over the years has been more of a professional than most other actors in her position. The allegations of physical assault against Megan Fox, however, put her in a different light and might turn out to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Is The Megan Fox We Saw In Twilight Really The Same Person?
One of the most interesting aspects of Megan Fox’s sensational comeback post-Twilight is that it would appear that this is not the same woman who we saw in the world of romance. While many people might accuse her of putting on airs during her time on the set of Twilight, it’s quite the opposite: Megan Fox was completely uninterested in acting and was just trying to keep her job. Even in her early days in Hollywood and long before her liaison with Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, Fox said she was never one to focus on her looks or acting. As she explains in the NYT interview, “I never thought of myself as an actress — I always thought of myself as a person who had to act. I wasn’t like, ‘I want to be an actress, and I want to be famous.’ I just wanted to be a person whose work was respected. I didn’t want to overthink it.”
In other words, Megan Fox wanted to be respected as an individual, not as an actress. Yet, in choosing to defend herself against the allegation that she was physically assaulted by Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, she is undoubtedly sending the message to Hollywood that she is not to be messed with. Although Fox was never one to mince words, the circumstances surrounding this particular allegation are rather unique and, in all likelihood, will prove to be the death knell of her career in Hollywood. After appearing in a string of mediocre Hollywood movies that failed to live up to her reputation as a bit player in the Grand Budapest Hotel and other prestige pictures, Megan Fox has decided to take a stand and defend her integrity as an actress. In so doing, she might just save her career in Hollywood. As she told The New York Times in an interview published Wednesday: “I never thought of myself as an actress — I always thought of myself as a person who had to act. I wasn’t like, ‘I want to be an actress, and I want to be famous.’ I just wanted to be a person whose work was respected. I didn’t want to overthink it.”
The Bizarro World Scandal.
For anyone who has watched the show “Bizarro World,” Megan Fox’s spectacular departure from Hollywood wouldn’t come as a great shock. Aside from the bizarre circumstances surrounding her involvement with Robert Pattinson, the entire scandal has all the makings of a bad sitcom. While it would be quite the Cinderella story if, in fact, Fox managed to parlay her time in Twilight and the physical altercation with Pattinson into a successful acting career, the odds are certainly against her. This is an example of a person who, despite her best intentions, probably doesn’t belong in Hollywood. The question is: Why did she ever think she did?
Before we know it, Fox will be back in Hollywood, busily promoting her new movie. She will sign autographs, smile for the cameras, and pretend like nothing ever happened. The only difference is that now, we’ll all know what happened. While Hollywood might forgive and forget about Megan Fox’s misadventures in romance (at least for the most part), the fact that she tried to play it cool in the early days of her scandalous relationship with Robert Pattinson is proof that she was, at the very least, aware of how absurd the situation was. And, in all likelihood, she will use her newfound celebrity to make a name for herself outside of Hollywood. After all, in Bizarro World, the joke is on us. (We’d never seen a woman that looked like Megan Fox.)
The Rise Of The Status Quo.
When it comes to Hollywood, the phrase “it’s what is known” is usually — and quite correctly — used to describe the never-ending stream of A-list celebrities who show up in regularly filmed movies or on the red carpets with consistently high profiles. Although Megan Fox might not always have agreed to this way of life, she has certainly benefited from it. The fact that she has never felt the need to pose for Vanity Fair or attend prestigious award shows after her Twilight days is a testament to how far she has come. As she put it in the New York Times interview, “I’ve been in a place where I don’t have to prove myself to anyone. I can just be me.”
This quote, and the fact that it comes from an interview in which she is not only discussing her role in The Rover and the alleged assault but is also responding publicly to the comments of others, is, in itself, quite telling. As she has pointed out, she no longer needs to “prove” herself to anyone. She is, in a sense, “mature” and, at least from the outside looking in, seems quite happy with her new, more “mature” lifestyle. As she also told The New York Times, “I wouldn’t change a thing about the way things ended up. This is the person I was meant to be with.”
The End Of An Era.
Even though Megan Fox will, undoubtedly, go down in the history of Hollywood — and perhaps even the world — as a bit player who managed to land a few high-profile roles while still bearing The Twilight brand, her time in Hollywood will quite simply be known as the “Megan Fox era.” After all, who else but Megan Fox could have starred in the two Twilight movies that were released in theaters in 2014? Even if Robert Pattinson had nothing to do with the phenomenal success of Twilight, he almost certainly benefited from it. Aside from his costarring in Twilight, Pattinson also had roles in the highly rated HBO series “Hung” and the critically acclaimed indie film “American Honey.” In other words, Megan Fox was, quite literally, the “it” girl of 2014.