Megan Fox’s 2015 Face covers the new issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. I actually have to give her some credit: she doesn’t look drastically different in these photos. I think Megan “tweaks” her face a lot, but it was at its worst circa 2009-10. I think her changing look these days is mostly about her back-to-back pregnancies. Her face is longer now and her lips aren’t so artificially inflated. It’s like she’s de-Kardashianing. Anyway, Megan has something to promote – ??? – and she has a lot to say about her intelligence, her career, motherhood and how uncomfortable she is being seen as some kind of model or music video chick (she’s both).

The criticisms people have of her: “I would say most people assume that I’m not very smart or educated or earnest, because I have this image that I’m sort of narcissistic, chasing attention, and wanting people to like me. It makes me laugh because I’ve done plenty of interviews and when you read the article from beginning to end you can see that I’m not your typical music video model. My life is not about seeking other people’s approval because I know it isn’t going to come.”

Getting kicked off the Transformers franchise: “I think there’s a lot of growing personally that I needed to do, to control my passion. I really wanted to be a mom, and I wasn’t yet, and I really struggled with that. I was just too young to see where I wanted to go.”

The criticism of her acting abilities: “In Transformers I was a kid. I had no idea what I was doing. There was nothing for me to do, but then I did nothing and that was my own call. I don’t take it personally because in some ways I acknowledge and agree. But at the same time, both established comedians and Quentin Tarantino have come up to me and said, ‘I really liked Jennifer’s Body. You were really good in that’. The people whose opinions matter liked it, so I’m OK with that.”

She’s not your mannequin: “I’ve never had fun getting dressed up and going on the red carpet because there’s pressure there. You’re not just getting dressed because you think this is an amazing outfit. You’re getting dressed because there’s an obligation from your side to a certain designer and then you have to go and walk the carpet hoping that someone else isn’t wearing something similar. I’m just sort of the mannequin that they send out, so it’s just not a fun process for me.”

She’s not planning out her career: “I don’t sit back and have a game plan and make decisions about my career like other actors do. I have no ego tied up into my career at all. If I get pitched into a movie I do it and that’s that; it doesn’t matter if it’s weird or small or huge. I trust my intuition.”

Motherhood: “I don’t think I need to teach my children with harsh words or with punishment. I believe that if I love them the right way, there’s no need for that. I’m a free-spirit mother. I don’t talk to Bodhi like he’s an adult, obviously, but I listen to everything he says to me and I believe in him: I believe that he sees things I don’t see, I believe he has things to teach me, and so I don’t act as a disciplinarian or an authority figure per se. I don’t ever want to be a restrictive force on him; I want to be an expansive force…I want him to be inspired by me because he constantly inspires me as well. Motherhood has really deepened me and has given me so much perspective. I’m very dedicated.”

[From E! News]

Do you think Megan Fox is smart? I do not. I don’t think she’s fall-down stupid or anything, but she’s said a mountain of dumb things (even in this interview, she said dumb sh-t) and I think it’s fair game to judge her on her public statements. I can’t blame her for wanting to remind people that she sees herself as a real actress, although let’s be honest: most of the money she makes these days are from her modeling contracts, endorsements and commercial work. It seems stupid to bitch about how you’re not a model or a mannequin when you’re getting millions of dollars to be just that.

Also: “There was nothing for me to do, but then I did nothing and that was my own call.” Explain? No one expected Meryl Streep-level acting in the Transformers franchise, but it seems like Megan is saying yeah, she phoned it in. She didn’t even try.

Photos courtesy of John Russo/Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.