Wow, this one got messy fast.  I was going to post an article on it a few days ago, but then new stuff just kept happening.

Basically, Megan Fox said some mildly rude things about Michael Bay, then a bunch of other people said rude stuff about Megan Fox, and then…actually, let me just post a timeline for you:

1. On September 2nd, the L.A. Times picked up the story that in the September issue of Wonderland Magazine, Megan Fox was quoted as saying:

[Michael Bay] wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he’s a nightmare to work for but when you get him away from set, and he’s not in director mode, I kind of really enjoy his personality because he’s so awkward, so hopelessly awkward. He has no social skills at all. It’s endearing to watch him. He’s so vulnerable and fragile in real life and then on set, he’s a tyrant.

2. “Megan Fox compares Michael Bay to Hitler” becomes a pseudo-story in the days following, mentioned on sites like Deadline Hollywood and Entertainment Weekly.  From the latter on September 4th:

Yes, readers, the 23-year-old actress openly compared Michael Bay to the very definition of evil. Yep, she trash-talked the same person who helped make her career — the one she now seems hell-bent on squandering with her nonsensical rants. (Whatever you think of Bay and/or his movies, it’s a pretty ungracious move.)

3. On September 11th, “three Transformers crew members” post an anonymous open letter on Michael Bay’s own (fan-run) site blasting Fox and declaring their loyalty to Bay.  The letter is pulled down the next day, but contains gems like:

Yes, Megan has great eyes, a tight stomach we spray with glycerin, and an awful silly Marilyn Monroe tattoo plastered on her arm that we cover up to keep the moms happy.

Michael found this shy, inexperienced girl, plucked her out of total obscurity thus giving her the biggest shot of any young actresses’ life. He told everyone around to just trust him on his choice. He granted her the starring role in Transformers, a franchise that forever changed her life; she became one of the most googled and oogled women on earth. She was famous! She was the next Angelina Jolie, hooray! Wait a minute, two of us worked with Angelina – second thought – she’s no Angelina. You see, Angelia is a professional.

We know this quite intimately because we’ve had the tedious experience of working with the dumb-as-a-rock Megan Fox on both Transformers movies. We’ve spent a total of 12 months on set making these two movies.

We are in different departments; we can’t give our names because sadly doing so in Hollywood could lead to being banished from future Paramount work.

And:

[W]e have never understood why Megan was always such the grump of the set?

When facing the press, Megan is the queen of talking trailer trash and posing like a porn star. And yes we’ve had the unbearable time of watching her try to act on set, and yes, it’s very cringe-able. So maybe, being a porn star in the future might be a good career option. But make-up beware, she has a paragraph tattooed to her backside (probably due her rotten childhood) — easily another 45 minutes in the chair!

So when the three of us caught wind of Ms Fox, pontificating yet again in some publication (like she actually has something interesting to say) blabbing her trash mouth about a director whom we three have grown to really like. She compared working with Michael, to “working with Hitler”. We actually don’t think she knows who Hitler is by the way.

Wait, still not done:

And who is the real Megan Fox? She is very different than the academy nominee and winning actors we’ve all worked around. She’s as about ungracious a person as you can ever fathom. She shows little interest in the crew members around her. We work to make her look good in every way, but she’s absolutely never appreciative of anyone’s hard work. Never a thank you. All the crewmembers have stopped saying hi to Ms. Princess because she never says hello back. It gets tiring. Many think she just really hates the process of being an actress.

Megan has been late to the sets many times. She goes through the motions that make her exude this sense of misery. We’ve heard the A.D’s piped over the radio that Megan won’t walk from her trailer until John Turturro walks first! John’s done seventy-five movies and she’s made two!

Never expect Megan to attend any of the 15 or so crew parties like all the other actors have. And then there’s the classless night she blew off The Royal Prince of Jordan who made a special dinner for all the actors. She doesn’t know that one of the grips’ daughters wanted to visit their daddy’s work to meet Megan, but he wouldn’t let them come because he told them “she is not nice.”

The press certainly doesn’t know her most famous line. On our first day in Egypt, the Egyptian government wouldn’t let us shoot because of a permit problem as the actors got ready in make up at the Four Seasons Hotel. Michael tried to make the best of it; he wanted to take the cast and crew on a private tour of the famous Giza pyramids. God hold us witness, Megan said, “I can’t believe Michael is fucking forcing us to go to the fucking pyramids!” I guess this is the “Hitler guy” she is referring to.

So this is the Megan Fox you don’t get to see. Maybe she will learn, but we figure if she can sling insults, then she can take them too. Megan really is a thankless, classless, graceless, and shall we say unfriendly bitch.

4. The next day, on September 12th, Michael Bay stepped in and became — holy crap — the tactful voice of reason:

I don’t condone the crew letter to Megan. And I don’t condone Megan’s outlandish quotes. But her crazy quips are part of her crazy charm. The fact of the matter I still love working with her, and I know we still get along. I even expect more crazy quotes from her on Transformers 3.

5. On Tuesday, September 15th, a non-anonymous crew member, Anthony Steinhart, posted another open letter in order to clear his name and defend Fox:

First of all, I would like people to know (for those who are interested) the reason why I am writing this letter is to clear my name in any of this Ms. Fox bashing. As someone pointed out in one of the responses, you could narrow down the list of potential writers of the letter by looking on IMDB. I have received a few phone calls from people who have read the letter and they know that I have worked closely with the actors/actresses on the film, so I felt I should at least clear my name.

My name is Anthony Steinhart and I have worked on both Transformers movies and have had the pleasure of working with Ms. Fox.

I read the letter by the three unnamed crew people and was blown away by their description of Ms. Fox. Especially, since I am the one usually getting Ms. Fox at her trailer. I have personally never been nor ever witnessed Ms. Fox being rude or inconsiderate of people’s feelings or the work to be done. Everyone is entitled to their good days and bad. Contrary to popular belief, she is like us (human) and has both good and bad days as well. Working on the Transformers movies can be intense at times and sometimes intense situations cause intense moments.

Some of the examples the three unnamed writers give as evidence of Ms. Fox and her horrible attitude are so ridiculous.

It’s unfortunate the grip didn’t want to bring his daughter to set because Megan Fox wasn’t nice and not the fact that we had a closed to set. No visitors unless approved by the UPM [unit production manager]. That is what the call sheets have always said. By the way, Ms. Fox wished my 12-year-old brother a happy birthday over the phone while we were shooting in New Mexico. Not so heartless.

6. Finally, the same day, Fox released a short statement via her publicist:

I have spoken with the parties involved privately. I am very fortunate to be involved in this amazing franchise and look forward to Transformers 3.

And that’s it…so far, at least.

The one striking thing from the whole ordeal?  How childish some people can be.  The anonymous crew member letter was — aside from being horribly edited and reading like three high school dropouts got drunk and decided to write a letter — immature, sexist, and far more rude than anything Fox may or may not have done to them.

And I don’t even particularly like Megan Fox.  Or Michael Bay.  But Fox’s not-very-well-thought-out original comments aside, they’re behaving like the grown-ups in all of this.