Mike Myers' 'Former Bodyguard' Claims Star Fired Him for Making Eye Contact
A radio DJ who claims he worked as Mike Myers' bodyguard on the set of 2008 movie The Love Guru has accused the star of firing him for making eye contact.
Canadian radio presenter Jay Brody made the claim recently on social media as he responded to a tweet from November 2021 that praised Keanu Reeves for helping out the crew on the set of John Wick 4.
Quote tweeting the video clip, Brody wrote of Reeves: "People saying that 'he shouldn't be praised for helping' have no idea what it's like working in film. Mike Myers had me fired off the set of 'The Love Guru' because I made eye contact with him, and I was there as his body guard... Give Keanu his roses."
He added in another tweet: "When we were hired they basically told us he would have us fired regardless in under a week and not to worry because it wouldn't impact our ability to work on other projects around town. It didn't."
A spokesperson for Myers told PageSix that Brody's claim was false, adding: "Mike didn't have a bodyguard on The Love Guru."
Newsweek has reached out to a representative of Myers for comment.
While later appearing on his Sonic Radio show Carly and Jay, Brody went into further detail about his brief stint working on The Love Guru, which was primarily shot in various locations across Canada and Los Angeles.
"Years ago, I was working in film security, and I got a call from a company that hired out guards. And they said, 'Do you want a job on the film The Love Guru?' I'm like, 'Sure. What will I be doing?' Brody recounted to co-host Carly Meyers. "'You'll be basically guarding Mike Myers' trailer on the film sets wherever they go."
"Sounds easy enough, I've done this before," Brody continued. "They're like, 'Here's the catch: you can't look at him,'" I'm like, 'Well, I need to look at him, to see him to be his bodyguard.' They're like, 'If you look at him, you're gonna get fired.'"
Brody also said he was warned by the team that they "really don't know what [Myers] looks like right now. He's gonna be in a wig and proesthetics."
He added: "I'm sitting on the set, first day, first hour I'm there, we don't know what he looks like, I don't know what he looks like yet, and I just see a man approaching in a long wig with a fake beard, and I'm like 'I think that's Mike Myers.'
"I looked down to not look at him, because I don't want to get fired. But I realize I can't let just anyone into the trailer. So I look up, I catch his eye for a second, I give him a nod to let him know I'm cool, and then I look away.
"Within an hour I get a phone call letting me know that I'm fired, and I have to get off set because I broke this weird rule."
In a clip of the show, which was shared on Twitter, Meyers joked to Brody that his nod must have been "unsettling."
Comedian Myers wrote, produced and starred in The Love Guru, a 2008 comedy about an American-born man who was raised in an Indian ashram. On returning to the U.S. the man, played by Myers, becomes the world's leading love guru.
Brody isn't the first celebrity to says Myers was difficult to work with. Actress Amy Hill told the AV Club back in 2016 that she had "a horrible, nightmarish experience" working with Canadian-born actor on The Cat In the Hat.
"He had his handlers dress his trailer, and his area was all covered with tenting because he didn't want anybody seeing him," she said. "I don't think he got to know anybody. He'd just be with his people and walk away. People would come and then he'd stand there. There was a guy who held his chocolates in a little tupperware.
"Whenever he needed chocolate, he'd come running over and give him a chocolate. That's what divas are like, I guess. Or people who need therapy."
© Lester Cohen/WireImage
Mike Myers is pictured at the premiere of "The Love Guru" on June 11, 2008 in Hollywood, California. Myers' spokesperson has stated that the comedian did not have a bodyguard on the set of the film. Lester Cohen/WireImage
Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris, who directed Myers and Dana Carvey in the comedy classic Wayne's World, told Screen Rant in 2022 that working with the Austin Powers star was "a little bit like walking on eggshells."
"Well, I mean, we all have our backstory, we all have our little quirks and tweaks. Do you know what I mean?" Spheeris said. "Mike back then was very kind of fragile and extra, extra careful, and never wanted to make a mistake when we were shooting. He wanted everything to be just right.
"Honestly, it was a little bit like walking on eggshells dealing with him, because I didn't want to say the wrong thing or set him off or anything. Dana was a little easier because he doesn't have that vibe like, 'Oh man, don't mess with me.'"
She added that Myers was "trying to do a good job. There is a lot of talk about how we didn't get along on set. But honestly, there was only one time I remember that we had a disagreement."
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