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Debra Messing reveals 'A Walk in the Clouds' dir harassed her

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Press Trust of India Los Angeles
Actress Debra Messing has said that director Alfonso Arau allegedly subjected her to a series of humiliations over her body while shooting on sets of "A Walk in the Clouds".

Speaking at the Makers Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, the 48-year-old star has revealed that her initial excitement about shooting her first Hollywood movie opposite "Matrix" star Keanu Reeves was marred by several humiliating incidents, reported Entertainment Weekly.

On the first day of filming, Messing said, she and Reeves were in the middle of a dramatic kiss scene when Arau interjected, "How quickly can we get a plastic surgeon in here? Her nose is ruining my movie!"
 

After completing the scene in a daze, Messing retreated to her trailer and cried.

"I felt ugly, I felt like garbage, and I felt deep shame," she said.

Recalling the second day of filming, Messing said, she was browbeaten into shooting a nude scene, despite having been told previously the movie would not feature nudity.

When she confronted Arau about the scene, he allegedly told her, "I'm the director, it's my movie. Your job is to get naked and say the lines. That's it. You should be grateful to have this part."

After grudgingly going through with the scene, the actress said the only part of her unclothed body appeared in the final cut was her back.

"The whole thing was a power play, a game. And the goal? To demean me, strip me of my pride and power, make me feel on a cellular level his dominance over me. I felt violated," Messing said.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Feb 10 2017 | 12:48 PM IST

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