She's been called the hottest girl in the world, but according to Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox wasn't ready to become a sex symbol when Transformers hit theaters in 2007.

"Megan developed this Spice Girl strength, this woman-empowerment [stuff] that made her feel awkward about her involvement with [director] Michael Bay, who some people think is a very lascivious filmmaker, the way he films women," LaBeouf, 24, tells The Los Angeles Times.

"Mike films women in a way that appeals to a 16-year-old sexuality. It's summer. It's Michael's style. And I think [Fox] never got comfortable with it," he explained. "This is a girl who was taken from complete obscurity and placed in a sex-driven role in front of the whole world and told she was the sexiest woman in America. And she had a hard time accepting it."