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What to do if…
an audition, photoshoot, or opportunity unexpectedly pressures you to undress or provide explicit images

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy USA guide

Short answer

Stop the interaction and move to a safer place or end the call or chat. Do not undress or provide explicit images while you are being pressured; contact someone you trust, and call 911 if you are in immediate danger.

Do not do these things

  • Do not stay, keep your camera on, or continue posing solely to protect the opportunity.
  • Do not partly undress or send one sample image because of a deadline, threat, promise, or claimed industry rule.
  • Do not keep debating your boundary if ending the interaction is safer.
  • Do not meet or return alone to collect belongings or seek an explanation if you feel threatened.
  • Do not forward or reshare explicit material.
  • Do not blame yourself if you froze, became quiet, complied, or were caught off guard.

What to do now

  1. Create a safer pause. If you are there in person, move toward a public or staffed place and leave. Get dressed or collect essential belongings only if doing so does not increase the danger or delay you.
  2. If someone blocks you, threatens you, follows you, restrains you, or you fear immediate harm, call 911. If the pressure is happening remotely, end the call or chat and stop sending material.
  3. Contact a trusted person and ask them to stay on the phone, meet you, arrange transport, or remain with you. If you are under 18, tell a safe trusted adult now.
  4. Use one clear sentence if it feels safe: “I am not agreeing to this. I am leaving now.” You do not need to defend or explain your decision.
  5. Before responding again, verify the opportunity through contact details you find independently for the company, agency, casting office, photographer, or union. Do not rely only on details supplied by the person who pressured you.
  6. Contact RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline for confidential support and referrals. You can seek support without deciding whether to make a report.
  7. If it feels safe and useful, keep the original listing and messages without forwarding any explicit material.
  8. If an explicit image has already been posted, use the platform’s nonconsensual-intimate-image removal process. The Federal Trade Commission reporting portal explains when a platform with a missing, broken, or ineffective removal process can be reported.
  9. If you were under 18 when an image was taken and the file is already on your device, Take It Down may help limit its sharing on participating public or unencrypted platforms. Do not download or ask someone to resend an image solely to use the service.
  10. If you were 18 or older in the image, are currently over 18, and still have an eligible non-commercial intimate image on your device, StopNCII may help on participating platforms. It does not accept commercial or professional images.
  11. If you are under 18 and someone is requesting sexual images, you or a safe trusted adult may contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children through its CyberTipline.
  12. For work covered by a SAG-AFTRA agreement, pause and check the union’s current nudity and simulated-sex rules before taking part in any further audition.

What can wait

You do not need to decide now whether to confront the person, post publicly, continue pursuing the opportunity, or make a non-emergency report. Contract disputes, refunds, reviews, career decisions, and longer-term legal or professional steps can wait until you are safe and supported. Immediate danger and urgent medical needs should not wait.

Important reassurance

Unexpected pressure does not create consent or an obligation to continue. Freezing, becoming quiet, or initially complying under pressure does not make this your fault. For work covered by a SAG-AFTRA agreement, current union guidance says a performer may not be fully nude or perform simulated sex acts in an audition, and known nudity or simulated sex should be disclosed before the audition.

Scope note

This guide covers the first safe pause, ending the pressure, contacting support, and taking initial steps if an image already exists. Later decisions about employment, contracts, platform complaints, non-emergency reports, or legal action may require help from a sexual assault advocate, union representative, healthcare professional, or attorney.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, medical, employment, union, or other professional advice. Rules and available options may vary by state, age, contract, platform, and circumstances.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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