Jason Isaacs has walked back controversial comments he made about a “double standard” in the entertainment industry regarding nude scenes.
The 61-year-old British actor drew criticism for his response when asked on a recent episode of CBS Mornings whether he wore a prosthetic during a nude scene in an episode of The White Lotus.
Clarifying his comments, Isaacs told Variety on Tuesday: “I said the wrong words in the wrong way. I used the phrase ‘double standard,’ which I didn’t mean at all. There is a [different] double standard — women have been monstrously exploited and men haven’t.”
“It came out wrong, and I was tired — I’d done so many interviews,” he continued. “I absolutely should not have mentioned those two actresses, whom I respect enormously. Mikey Madison I’m a massive fan of. My point wasn’t that men have had a harder time than women — that would be absurd. Women have had a monstrous time on camera forever, and I hope to God that is changing.”
Isaacs — who plays wealthy businessman and family patriarch Timothy Ratliff in the latest season of Mike White’s hit HBO series — initially refused to answer the question about the prosthetic on CBS Mornings.
“A lot of people are debating it. It’s all over the internet,” he told hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson.
Explaining why he refused to answer the question, he said: “I’ll tell you why because the best actress this year is Mikey Madison at the Oscars and I don’t see anyone discussing her vulva, which is on television all the time and I’m not talking about Swedish cars.”
He added: “I think it’s interesting that there’s a double standard for men, but when women are naked, Margaret Qualley in The Substance, no one would dream of talking to her about her genitalia or her nipples or any of those things. So, it’s odd that there’s a double standard.”
Although he continued to be pressed by King and Burleson, he admitted dodging the question as he said: “Because I don’t think that people really want to know how the sausage is made.
“I genuinely think it would be odd when there are characters — and some of the women are naked in here — it’d be odd if you were sitting here. And you would never dream of discussing their genitalia, not for a second.”
As he continued to be asked, Isaacs quipped: “What is your obsession? Mike White is a brilliant writer, it’s the best series on television for a long time. And what is the obsession with penises? It’s an odd thing.”
In his statement to Variety, Isaacs stood by his point that journalists asking about the prosthetic was “embarrassing and inappropriate.”
“I had been asked so many times in the same day by journalists, ‘Are you wearing a prosthetic?’ Which means, ‘Have I seen your actual penis? It’s very important for me to know if I’ve seen your penis.’ It just strikes me as a bit weird and slightly obsessive,” he said. “I thought I could have fun batting it off, but I batted it off very poorly.”
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