One may or may not be a fan of the Transformers franchise, but at some point, everyone has seen the iconic shot of Megan Fox fixing a car.

While she only got supporting roles initially with her first role as Brianna Wallace in Holiday in the Sun, back in 2001; Fox all of a sudden became a household name after her role as Mikaela Banes in the first film of the Transformers franchise, in 2007. And with that, her career saw a rapid ascent as she bagged several Hollywood projects, back to back.

However, her ascent turned into a downfall after her feud with director Michael Bay. This was followed by several flops at the box office, while some projects she had already signed were put on hold indefinitely. Was it a steady stroke of bad luck? Or was it the aftermath of her publicly claiming that Bay was tyrannical? Either way, Fox earned herself a reputation of being a difficult actor, following the controversy.

Megan Fox in the Transformers franchise

She made the news in 2009 when she compared Transformers director Michael Bay to Hitler. Due to this controversial comment, she was fired from the franchise and replaced by Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Fox’s career never fully recovered from this incident.

Her comments aimed at Michael Bay almost cost Megan Fox her career

Megan Fox was supposed to return as Mikaela Banes in the third installment of the franchise, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. However, after she compared director Michael Bay to Hitler in an interview, producer Steven Spielberg intervened and had her fired.

Megan Fox and Michael Bay
For added context, Spielberg is Jewish and has a personal connection to the Holocaust. He directed the film Schindler’s List, which tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of over 1,000 Jews during World War II. Spielberg also founded the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which records the personal accounts of Holocaust survivors.

Steven Spielberg

In an interview with GQ, Michael Bay said that Fox was “in a different world, on her BlackBerry” during rehearsals for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He also revealed that Spielberg was not at all pleased with Fox’s comparison of him to Hitler. “You gotta stay focused,” Bay said. “And you know, the Hitler thing. Steven said, ‘Fire her right now.’” Fox’s firing from the film was a major blow to her career.

The actress has spoken publicly about being typecast in Hollywood

Megan Fox has spoken out publicly about being typecast in Hollywood and the type of role that she is usually offered. She said that she is offered stereotypical roles that only objectify and sexualize women. In a conversation with the folks at The New York Times, she said,

“You have these stereotypes that still dominate films: the nag, the trophy, the escort … I haven’t been sent a nag script yet, but I do get plenty of, like, ‘interesting stripper.’ Or, ‘She’s super funny, but she’s also an escort, but that’s what makes it funny!’”

“I don’t get a whole lot of say in terms of character development on movies like these. It’s not like I’m in there helping them write the script saying, April should do this because this is what a real feminist would do.’”

Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox.

And that wasn’t all. She had more to say in an interview with E! News,

“They need what they need from you and then, goodbye. You know, ‘suck it up, tough it up and we’ll see you for the next one.’ That’s what I mean by it being sort of ‘morally bankrupt’ is that there’s just no empathy or concern for humanity or, god forbid, recognition of a spirit. In my experience, from my perspective, I haven’t experienced that in this industry. There’s not a lot of concern about what’s right for individuals.”

Megan Fox

Fox’s comments brought to light the problems of being typecast as a woman actor in Hollywood.  In recent years, Fox has expressed her disinterest in the film industry and has focused on her family.