Evangeline Lilly felt ‘cornered’ into doing nude scenes on TV show Lost

Evangeline Lilly said that she felt "cornered" into doing nude scenes on TV show Lost. 

The actor said she was left "mortified and trembling" on multiple instances when she felt pressured into filming partially nude sequences for the series. Lilly played fugitive Kate Austen on the hit ABC show between 2004 and 2010. She told Jack Shepherd and Jacob Stolworthy this week that during filming of Lost's third season, she felt like she had "no control" over what was being shot. Speaking on podcast The Lost Boys, Lilly said:

"In season three, I’d had a bad experience on set with being basically cornered into doing a scene partially naked, and I felt had no choice in the matter. "And I was mortified and I was trembling when it finished. I was crying my eyes out, and I had to go and do a very formidable, very strong scene thereafter."

Lilly went on to say that she had a similar experience in season four, ultimately leading to her refusal to ever do a nude scene for the show again. "In season four, another scene came up where Kate was undressing," she said, "and I fought very hard to have that scene be under my control. And I failed to control it again."

"So I then said, 'That’s it, no more. You can write whatever you want - I won’t do it. I will never take my clothes off on this show again.' And I didn’t."

Lost creators J.J. Abrams, Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof, and Jack Bender released a joint statement following Lilly's appearance on the podcast. They apologised for her experiences on set saying that they were "deeply and sincerely sorry." Their statement read:

"Our response to Evie’s comments this morning in the media was to immediately reach out to her to profoundly apologize for the experience she detailed while working on Lost. "We have not yet connected with her, but remain deeply and sincerely sorry. No person should ever feel unsafe at work. Period."

Lilly said that since that time, she has become more picky about the kinds of roles she chooses. However, she also recognises that not every woman in Hollywood has that luxury. "Because I have had uncomfortable experiences when I read scripts where it involves nudity, I pass," she said.

"And it’s not because I think there’s anything wrong with doing nudity. It’s because I don’t trust that I can be comfortable and safe. "I’m lucky; I’m in a privileged position because I can be picky. I feel for women who are struggling to come up in the industry and don’t know how to navigate that."