Michael Bay Responds to Kate Beckinsale’s Alleged Body Shaming Comments

Jun 03, 2016 06:10 PM EDT

During the past few days, things between Kate Beckinsale and Michael Bay got a bit out of hand after the actress appeared on the "Graham Norton Show" and talked about her experience working with the director on the set of "Pearl Harbor." And now, Bay has responded to Beckinsale's comments to clarify the matter.

According to the director of the 2001 film, he and Beckinsale are still friends and that her comments during the show were made in jest. Sure, the things she said were true but Bay noted that these were blown out of proportion by a media outlet to stir up some controversy between him and the actress.

He also revealed that he had already discussed the matter with Beckinsale.

"Kate and I are friendly," Bay wrote on his website. "She is a fantastic actress, very funny, witty lady, sassy, speaks her mind, and I truly respect her. That's why she has come to so many of my Christmas parties and birthday parties."

"This so-called 'problem of us not liking each other' was reported by a tabloid-esque reporter after Kate appeared on an edgy English talk show, speaking about our meeting 16 years ago while casting 'Pearl Harbor," he added. "The reporter made her story into some scandalous confrontation, when it was nothing of the sort. Spoke to Kate today and she felt she told a funny story."

The issue that Bay was referring to was how certain sources labeled his actions towards Beckinsale on the set of "Pearl Harbor" as body shaming. This is because during her appearance at the talk show, Beckinsale shared how her appearance stumped Bay when he first met her.

"I think he was baffled by me because my boobs weren't bigger than my head, and I wasn't blonde," she said. "I don't think I fit the type of actress Michael Bay had met before."

This is not the first time that Bay was dragged into a controversy regarding the actresses he works with in his films. As noted by Cinemablend, Megan Fox once compared Bay to Adolf Hitler based on her experience working with him on the "Transformers" movie series.