Megan Fox says women tell her 'Jennifer's Body' helped make them feel 'comfortable coming out'

Megan Fox is reflecting on her most fulfilling job to date, explaining how her role in Jennifer's Body allowed her to identify her "purpose" in encouraging women to come out.

The 35-year-old has been open about her sexuality since sharing in a GQ interview that she is "attracted to both sexes" back in 2008, noting that she "could see myself in a relationship with a girl." Since then, the mother-of-three, who was married to actor Brian Austin Green and now dating singer Machine Gun Kelly, has reminded people of the pride that she has in being bisexual with an Instagram post during Pride Month 2021. "Putting the B in #LGBTQIA for over two decades," she wrote.

While recently chatting with the New York Post, she opened up about the way that her role in the 2009 horror-comedy Jennifer's Body allowed her to represent women who hadn't felt comfortable coming out as gay or bisexual as they watched Fox's make-out scene with Amanda Seyfried on the big screen.

"I can’t tell you how many girls, from 30 down into their teens – or, f*** that, my age, too – come up to me and are like, 'I realized I was gay because of you,' or 'I felt comfortable coming out because of you,' because of Jennifer’s Body and the interviews I did about being bisexual before it was cool," Fox told the publication. "That’s something that’s so important to me, that I’m so proud of. If my purpose on Earth was to help one girl come out of the closet and feel OK about it, I had an amazing purpose here."

The actress admitted to facing a difficult challenge during her career after she spoke out against the director of the Transformers Michael Bay and faced retaliation in the form of negative reviews of her on-set behavior from Bay and her co-star Shia LaBeouf. Still, Fox remained focused on keeping her integrity intact.

"I quit one of the biggest franchises Hollywood has ever had. And I had to live with people being like, 'You were fired because you were a pain in the ass,'" she said. "I didn’t open my mouth to defend myself, I just lived with it. I didn’t know how long it would take, but I knew it would circle back around. Even if it was after I was dead, I knew eventually people would have a better understanding of what was really happening at the time. I’m happy I lived to see it, I guess."

She continued, "I went through a decade where I believed in what I had done, and in everything I said. Granted, it came out of a young mouth and I probably would have articulated it in a different way now, but my intention was always super honest."

Even as Fox has gone on to take on more important roles, like being a mother to three boys that she shares with Green, she's continued to block out what critics have to say about her.

"A lot of women fall into this archaic, critical, mom-shaming, slut-shaming thing," she said. "It’s like, 'You’re 35, you have three kids, you shouldn’t be wearing that.' So I don’t exist in a world where it’s like, oh, we all transcended the patriarchy. A lot of narratives are being spat out that are toxic to women, by other women. And that is a tragedy."

What's making Fox happy these days is finding roles that are authentic to her interests. "Like action-heavy stuff," she clarified. "I like using my body, I like to be physical."

She's also "manifested" her dreams of a "perfect boy" in her boyfriend Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker.

"Aesthetically, [Kelly] is my perfect crush. I think I was pre-programmed to be attracted to him. I always wanted a boyfriend who would share a closet with me and wear my clothes. I don’t know how he gets them on his body, but he does, and it looks really good," she said. "I’m so happy in this moment of my life. That’s something I didn’t get when I was younger. I wish I had been more present. I’ve learned to just appreciate the moment I’m in."

Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Life’s newsletter.