HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Megan Fox is shooting down speculation that she was booted from Transformers 3, insisting it was her decision to leave the hit film series that made her a bonafide star.
"It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best," the 24-year-old star's rep told People.
Deadline Hollywood broke the news on Wednesday that Fox would not appear in the franchise's third installment after she famously dissed the franchise's director, Michael Bay. The site said Paramount Pictures opted against picking up Fox's option for the sequel, with a source saying a new love interest will be added in the next installment for star Shia LaBeouf.
Fox initiated a very public feud with Bay that began last summer during a string of interviews.
"I mean, I can't s--- on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me," she told Entertainment Weekly when asked if she was up for a Transformers 3. "But I don't want to blow smoke up people's ass. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting."
Fox also criticized Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen during an appearance on CBS' Early Show.
"I think if you haven't read the script and you go and you see it and you understand it, I think you might be a genius," Fox said of last summer's sequel.
The harsh remarks drew a swift response from Bay in the Wall Street Journal.
"Well, that's Megan Fox for you," said Bay. "She says some very ridiculous things because she's 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, 'Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.' "
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Bay told the Journal that he "100% disagrees" with Fox that his films are full of special effects and have very little to do with the acting craft. Bay went on to point out his track record, perhaps suggesting that the young actress should be a bit more thankful.
"Nick Cage wasn't a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in Armageddon, " explained Bay. "Shia LaBeouf wasn't a big movie star before he did Transformers — and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from Bad Boys.
"Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in Transformers. I like to think that I've had some luck in building actors' careers with my films."
The feud continued months later when Fox compared Bay to "Hitler" while promoting her box-office flop, Jennifer's Body.
"He's like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation," she told Britain's Wonderland magazine.
"He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is," Fox continued. "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. And it's endearing to watch him. He's vulnerable and fragile in real life and then on set he's a tyrant."
Also see: Megan Fox Photos
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