Brooke Shields says she ignored Blue Lagoon director’s call after accusing him of selling her ‘sexual awakening’
Shields accused Randal Kleiser of wanting ‘to sell my sexual awakening’ in her new documentary
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Brooke Shields revealed that The Blue Lagoon director Randal Kleiser has tried to contact her after the release of her new Hulu documentary Pretty Baby.
In the documentary, the actor and supermodel accused Kleiser of wanting “to sell my sexual awakening.”
Shields starred in the 1980 film alongside Christopher Atkins. Aged 14 and 18 at the time of filming, respectively, Shields and Atkins played cousins who were stranded on a deserted island.
As the characters matured into adulthood, they fell in love and had a child together.
Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show on Tuesday (11 April), Shields was asked whether any of the male directors she mentions in the documentary have reached out to her.
‘Already movie of the decade’: Wicked fans stunned by epic first look of film set
Anya Taylor-Joy says she learnt English from School of Rock after video of her speaking Spanish goes viral
Howard Stern calls out Kid Rock and Travis Tritt over transphobic responses to Dylan Mulvaney’s Bud Light campaign
“I saw [Kleiser’s] name on my phone, and I was like, ‘Oh, what do I do?’ and I let it go to voicemail,” Shields said. “Because I was like, ‘I want to see what the tone is.’ He wants to chat. I don’t know about what, but I don’t feel like bringing any of it back up again.”
Shields added: “It’s not about that. It was about these males needing me to be in a certain category to serve their story, and it never was about me, it was not protective of me. It was fun and loving at times, but I was just there. I was a pawn, I was a piece, I was a commodity.”
The Independent has reached out to Kleiser for comment.
In Pretty Baby, Shields accuses Kleiser (also known for directing Grease) and other directors of exploiting her at a young age – she played a prostitute in Louis Malle’s 1978 film Pretty Baby aged 11.
The documentary quotes Kleiser telling a newspaper: “It’s real, she’s going from a child to a woman during the filming.”
“They wanted to make it a reality show,” Shields said of the making of The Blue Lagoon. “They wanted to sell my actual sexual awakening.”
She continued: “The irony was, I wasn’t in touch with any of my own sexuality.”
Shields previously claimed that the film’s producers encouraged her and Atkins to form a real-life, romantic relationship for the sake of the film, however, both of them felt uncomfortable with their age difference.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields is out now on Disney Plus.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments