Joshua Jackson reveals the pinup girl that his mother banned him from putting up on his bedroom wall

Perth Now

02-05-2025

Joshua Jackson's mother banned him from putting "scantily clad" women on his bedroom wall when he was a teenager.
The 46-year-old actor became a heartthrob himself in the 1990s when he was cast in the leading role of 'Dawson's Creek' but when he was asked which of his celebrity crushes adorned his bedroom wall, he admitted his mother would not allow any of that, although it would have been 1980s pop singer Samantha Fox had he been given the chance.
Speaking on 'The Jennifer Hudson Show', he said: "Mama didn't do that. We didn't have...my mother is wonderful, right, but she is a dedicated feminist.
"She raised me in a feminist household, so having a scantily clad woman pinned up on my walls was not a thing. It was not allowed.
"I knew better to even ask, I was not gonna try that!
"The first pinup girl I remember is a woman named Samantha Fox. We're all telling on ourselves if you know that name.
"So that was the first pinup girl, but I will guarantee you, for sure, she was not in our house. "
The 'Dr. Death' star even recalled that once he himself had found fame, his mother took issue with a certain magazine cover he did and almost contacted the outlet to complain.
He said: "So this one, my mother was so upset. She was not a huge fan of this photograph, and she was legitimately vexed. She wanted to call the TV Guide people and be like 'How can you do this to my son? We can't have him out here like this!' Yeah, that didn't go down too well."
In the photo, a teenage Joshua poses in character as Pacey Witter, and the magazine cover headline describes him as a "Teacher's Pet" following his alter-ego's "forbidden love" with his high school teacher.
Joshua previously reflected that the storyline - in which his character lost his virginity to English teacher Tamara Jacobs ( Leann Hunley) - could possibly have been handled "differently" if it was done now.
He told Insider: "Do I think that the show should have judged it differently? Maybe, because it's part and parcel of that double standard.
"I think it is real for a younger person to have sexual desires for an older person.
"It's been many years since I've been a teenager, but it strikes there's a lot more sex positivity in the conversation for young people now, which I think is great.
"But I think the onus remains upon the older person to be the adult and recognize that that's inappropriate.
"I think we've moved forward significantly and in a healthy way, but we still treat teenage female sexuality very differently than we teach or treat male teenage sexuality."