Debra Messing accused director Alfonso Arau of demeaning her on the set of their 1995 film A Walk in the Clouds. The Will & Grace actress, 48, called out the filmmaker during her speech at the 2017 Makers Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on Tuesday, February 7, the Hollywood Reporter said Thursday. Watch a clip of her speech in the video above.
Messing said she was told there would be no nude scenes in the film, in which she starred opposite Keanu Reeves, and that when she asked Arau about it, he belittled her.
The actress alleged that Arau told her: “Your job is to get naked and say the lines. That’s it. You should be grateful to have this part.” Messing also claimed that Arau placed a sheet over her naked body, saying in her Makers Conference speech: “He lifts it, scans my naked body, then drops the sheet on top of me like a used Kleenex … and walks away without a word.”
“The whole thing was a power play, a game,” Messing said. “And the goal: to demean me, to strip me of my power and make me feel on a cellular level his dominance over me.”
Arau also allegedly mocked her physical appearance while filming. According to Messing, during a close-up shot, Arau exclaimed: ”How quickly can we get a plastic surgeon in here? Her nose is ruining my movie!”
Messing said she felt like “garbage” at the time, but that ultimately the experience taught her to love herself. “I’m f–king original,” she declared.
Us Weekly has reached out to Arau for comment. Arau’s rep has since denied Messing’s claims to TooFab, calling the allegations “false.”
