American actor Jessie Williams unknowingly opened a rabbithole of unabashed lust on Twitter, from both women and men, who publicly threw restraint out the window after a leaked video of his Broadway performance spread like wildfire on Monday (May 9). 

The video, purportedly from Williams’ role in the play Take Me Out, did just that for many Twitter users as the actor stood on stage naked under a showerhead. 

Williams, playing fictional baseball athlete Darren Lemming, who comes out as gay to his Empires teammates, was literally steaming in the viral scene meant to reflect a locker room shower area. 

Twitter netizens revelled in his chiselled physique and ‘trunk’, to the point ‘Jesse Williams’ remains the number one trending topic on the platform well into Tuesday. 

The leaked photos and video, however, are being considered a breach of privacy by organisers of Hayes Theater, where the play is being screened in New York City. 

According to a report from New York Daily News, Take Me Out prerequired audiences to “lock up their phones in felt pouches with magnetic security tags” in an effort to protect its stars as they participated in nude scenes. 

The Tony Award-winning play’s message of tackling toxic masculinity was overshadowed by Twitter users’ ravenous oogling of Williams, who they largely objectified. Take Me Out‘s leading cast, including Williams, was recently nominated for another Tony Award, in the ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play” category.

Williams, who rose to fame as Grey’s Anatomy heartthrob Jackson Avery, seemed to not understand all the excitement in a comment on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live show.

“Everybody makes such a big deal,” Williams remarked. “It’s a body. Once you see it you realise it’s whatever.”