Jesse Williams responds after photos of his Broadway nude scene are leaked by audience member: ‘It’s a body’

Jesse Williams has responded to the buzz surrounding his nude scene in the Take Me Out Broadway show.

On Monday (9 May), photos from his play – in which the 40-year-old was nude – were leaked and began circulating online.

Williams has now responded to the leak, stating: “It’s a body, once you see it, you realise it’s whatever, it’s a boy!”

“I just have to make it not that big of a deal,” he told Watch What Happens Live After Show.

Following the leak, the company running the production issued a statement, reading: “It is deeply unfortunate that one audience member chose to disrespect the production, their fellow audience members, and most importantly, the case in this matter.”

“Posting it on the internet is a gross and unacceptable violation of trust between the actor and audience forged in the theater community,” Second Stage Theater said.

Take Me Out revolves around mixed-race baseball star Darren Lemming (played by Williams), who comes out as gay and is confronted off the field by deep-rooted homophobic and racist prejudices.

The play originally premiered in 2002 at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York.

Last month, Williams spoke about his fear to appear naked on stage and admitted it “terrified” him to do so.

“But then I noted that that was what I asked God for,” he said. “I asked to be terrified. I asked to do something that was scary and challenging and made me earn it and made me feel alive and not comfortable.”