Inside Megan Fox's Complicated History With Michael Bay

Not many know that Megan Fox and Michael Bay go way back — way before the "Transformers" series even made it to the theaters. You might be surprised to discover that the "Jennifer's Body" actor was only 15 years old when she met the director, and at the time, she was tapped to work as an extra on "Bad Boys 2."

Fox recounted her experience of the project in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel in 2009, saying she was slated to appear in a club scene, with Bay coming up with a workaround as she was still underage. Because she couldn't be filmed in the bar area, "[Bay's] solution to that problem was to then have me dancing under a waterfall getting soaking wet," she recalled (via Access Hollywood). "At 15, I was in 10th grade. That's sort of a microcosm of how Bay's mind works." While the decision to cast her in this capacity might be among Bay's creepiest moments, it proved lucrative for Fox. "I was a dancer in 'Bad Boys 2' when I was underage, by the way. Yeah, I was fully clothed, but I did get paid extra for dancing under a waterfall!" she dished at a press conference (via Miami Herald). "Because when you dance wet as an extra, you get paid more money."

This revelation by Fox, unsurprisingly, resulted in angry reactions from fans. Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg in their controversy-ravaged history.

There's no denying that Megan Fox skyrocketed to fame when she started starring in Michael Bay's "Transformers" series, and the director made sure she didn't forget. "Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in Transformers," he once told The Wall Street Journal (via ABC News).

Fox played a lead role in the franchise for the first two installments, but things took a turn when she opened up about her experience on set, which led to her abrupt firing. "He's like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation," the actor said of Bay in an interview with Wonderland. "He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he's a nightmare to work for." Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg didn't appreciate Fox's honesty, so they decided to exclude her from all subsequent films in the "Transformers" franchise. While Bay told GQ that he "wasn't hurt," Fox got booted off the series anyway, causing her to lay low for a few years.

"I think I had a genuine psychological breakdown where I wanted just nothing to do," Fox told ET in 2019. "I went through a very dark moment after that." Meanwhile, Bay shared with The Orange County Register that Fox's departure was barely considered a setback. "It was a small speed bump. This movie is way bigger than the leading lady."

Roughly half a decade after their falling out, Megan Fox and Michael Bay reconciled and fell back to being collaborators on-screen. Fox had signed up to be part of a film executively produced by Bay, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," and told Entertainment Weekly that the two managed to bury the hatchet.

"He was one of the most lovely people that I dealt with in making this movie," she said of the director. "I've always loved Michael. We've had our battles in the past but even when I've been really outspoken about difficulties we've had, I've always followed up by saying that I have a particular affinity to him." In 2020, she even defended Bay from fans who called him out for allegedly mistreating her on the "Bad Boys 2" set. "There are many names that deserve to be going viral in cancel culture right now, but they are safely stored in the fragmented recesses of my heart. But when it comes to my direct experiences with Michael, and Steven for that matter, I was never assaulted or preyed upon in what I felt was a sexual manner," she wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post (via Vanity Fair).

Bay, for his part, also clarified in a post on Instagram that he never subjected Fox to compromising circumstances. "I personally think Megan is fantastic," he said. "I'm proud to have worked with her, and still am planning on working with her."