Evangeline Lilly Says She Was Pressured Into Partially Nude LOST Scene #metoo
Ant-Man and the Wasp actress Evangeline Lilly recently described her experience of discomfort acting in a scene on
Lost. Lilly portrayed the character of Kate Austen on the mysterious TV series - a fugitive who, like the rest of the survivors of Oceanic 815, had her backstory and motivations revealed through numerous flashbacks.
While Kate was one of the major characters of the show, several of her storylines were not that well-received by fans, with a significant slump in the story being a love triangle between Kate, Jack (Matthew Fox), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) in season 3. While
Lostmade Lilly a star, it's not something she always looks fondly back on.
Related: Lost: Evangeline Lilly Reveals If She’d Be Up For A Reboot Now
Lilly described an incident of discomfort on the set of
Lost in an episode of
The LOST Boys, a podcast devoted to the ABC television show. Lilly cited a case that occurred during production of the third season of the show in which she had to appear partially nude:
“In season 3, I’d had a bad experience on set with being basically cornered into doing a scene partially naked, and I felt had no choice in the matter. And I was mortified and I was trembling, and when it finished, I was crying my eyes out and had to go on and do a very formidable, very strong scene thereafter.”
Lilly goes on to continue a similar incident that occurred during the production of season 4, with the actress fighting against doing a scene that called for Kate Austen to undress; Lilly describes herself as being unable to control the situation at the time. After these incidents, Lilly refused to do any more scenes for the show involving nudity. Still, Lilly shared fan sentiments in disliking the love triangle that her character was involved in; she felt that Kate had a "
diminishing amount of autonomy" as the plot progressed and culminated in
Lost's controversial ending.
The season 3 scene that was referenced is likely a moment in episode 6, "I Do." A Kate-centric episode, one particular scene had Kate and Sawyer locked up in a cage by "The Others," eventually culminating in a sex scene between the two that involved nudity - at least, as far as network standards allowed. Meanwhile, Jack was shown this through a live camera feed on the Hydra Station. The scene was a bit gratuitous, and was in the midst of an era of the show that was considered to have a plodding plot.
Modern Hollywood is currently reckoning with the idea of accountability on film and television sets. Stories have come to light about toxic and uncomfortable environments on sets, but as the tone in conversation is changing, Lilly had more of an opportunity to describe her own experiences in such an environment. While the context is certainly different, this experience slightly echos
Uma Thurman's own negative experience on the set of
Kill Bill, with an actress being pressured into uncomfortable and compromising situations. With actresses like
Lost's Evangeline Lilly speaking out openly about regrettable experiences, Hollywood can work towards preventing such incidents again - but there's still a long way to go.
Lost Producers Apologize to Evangeline Lilly for Uncomfortable Nude Scene
BY CHRISTOPHER FIDUCCIA – ON AUG 04, 2018 IN TV NEWS
The producers of ABC's Lost have issued a statement apologizing to Evangeline Lilly for the uncomfortable experiences she had while filming the show. Their statement came out after Lilly recently expressed her discomfort about having to film nude scenes during her time on Lost.
Lilly played the role of Kate Austen, who was a fugitive and wanted for the murder of her abusive father. After she was captured by United States Marshal Edward Mars, the two of them boarded Oceanic Flight 815 which as all fans of the show know, crashed on the Island. While Jack was seen as the leader of the survivors for most of the series, Kate was very resourceful and quick-witted which made her become a leader in her own right. While she had qualities of a leader, she was often just seen as a love interest of both Jack and Sawyer. This love triangle led to the uncomfortable scenes that Lilly felt pressured into doing, saying that she felt "cornered" and was left "mortified" and "trembling". J.J. Abrams and the other Lost producers have since responded to Lilly's claims.
Related: Evangeline Lilly Says Lost Ending More Controversial Than Infinity War
After Lilly expressed her discomfort on an episode of The LOST Boys podcast, the producers of Lost issued a statement to Entertainment Tonight regarding the situation. Their statement states, "Our response to Evie’s comments in the media was to immediately reach out to her to profoundly apologize for the experience she detailed while working on Lost. We have not yet connected with her, but remain deeply and sincerely sorry. No person should ever feel unsafe at work. Period.".
Several actresses have come out as of late describing horrible on-set situations they had to endure, much like Lilly. Many victims have stepped into the spotlight, which has sparked the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. While its troubling that this many people have been abused by authoritative figures, it's reassuring that Hollywood seems to be taking the matter seriously and taking action against offenders.
Many fan-favorite shows have been getting a TV revival as of late and while nothing has been confirmed for a Lost reboot, fans of the show continue to ask about one. Lilly has previously said that she was not really supportive of reboots and remakes, which made it sound like a Lost revival wouldn't be happening anytime soon. In light of her speaking out about her experience on the show, the odds of her returning to the role of Kate seem even more unlikely. While the producers have spoken out and given their sympathies to Lilly, it makes the situation no less troubling. This incident has possibly damaged the likelihood of a Lost revival, but fans of Lilly can still see her up on the big screen, as her film Ant-Man and the Wasp is currently in theaters.