Footage of the actor nude onstage was recently posted to social media.
The theater hosting Jesse Williams' play is taking action after nude footage of him onstage leaked online. In the wake of the leak, Second Stage Theater is "adding additional staff" and has installed an infrared camera system to detect violators of its no-phone policy, ET confirmed.
"This will allow us to focus on an audience member who looks like they're doing something suspicious, and assess whether they're just going through a purse to get a breath mint or pulling out a phone," Peter Dean, director of production for Second Stage, told The New York Times.
After the leak spread online, the theater took to Twitter to condemn the actions of the audience member who posted the footage.
"Second Stage Theater has worked to ensure the privacy of the 'Take Me Out' company by creating a phone-free space with locked phone cases at all performances. We are appalled that this policy has been violated and unauthorized footage of our acting company has been posted," the statement declared. "It is deeply unfortunate that one audience member chose to disrespect the production, their fellow audience members, and, most importantly, the cast in this manner."
"Taking naked pictures of someone without their consent is highly objectionable and can have severe legal consequences. Posting it on the internet is a gross and unacceptable violation of trust between the actor and audience forged in the theater community," the statement continued. "We are actively pursuing takedown requests and ask that no one participate in the distribution of these images. Second Stage is also adding additional staff at the theater to enforce the policy."
As for Williams, who was nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of Darren Lemming, a gay baseball player, in the play, he first addressed the situation during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen earlier this month.
"Everyone around me [was] going, ‘Are you sure? Nude, nude?’ and everybody makes such a big deal," he said. "It’s a body. Once you see it, you realize, whatever. It’s a body. I just have to not make it that big of a deal."
When ET spoke with Williams in February, before he made his Broadway debut with the show's opening, he took a lighthearted approach to the nude scenes.
"Everything debuts, [it’s] not a partial debut," he quipped. "This has gotta be the smartest play that involves nudity."
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