Emma Thompson slams back at Sean Bean for his comment on Intimacy Coordinators: Says they are ‘Fantastically Important’ on sets

Emma Thompson recently made her opinions clear about filming sex scenes after Sean Bean made it to the top of the news for criticizing intimacy coordinators.

Intimacy Coordinators are the most important people on sets

The Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, 63, praised intimacy coordinators by calling them “fantastically important” to productions as she responded to Sean Bean’s criticism on the Fitzy & Wippa radio show on Australia's NovaFM.

While talking about the importance of intimacy coordinators while filming sex scenes and slamming Sean Bean for his inequal comment, Emma Thompson stated on the radio program “ I don't know if you were speaking to someone who found it distracting, but [in] another conversation, you might find that people go, 'It made me comfortable, it made me feel safe, it made me feel as though I was able to do this work,'" Emma Thompson also kept her opinions freely without any fear and also talked about how uncomfortable the situation is while shooting such scenes and intimacy coordinators being present at the shooting site gives a sort of relief to the actors.

"And no, you can't just 'let it flow.' There's a camera there and a crew, it's not on your own in a hotel room. You're surrounded by a bunch of blokes carrying things," Thompson added. "So, it's not a comfortable situation, full stop. So, I don't know who the actor was, but maybe he had an intimacy coordinator accidentally at home."

She also argued that working with an intimacy coordinator slows down the rhythm of the sex scenes and that they "spoil the spontaneity" It would inhibit me more because it's drawing attention to things. Somebody said, ``Do this, put your hand there, while you touch his thing" she explained. "I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise."

Also read: https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/12/emma-thompson-defends-intimacy-coordinators-sean-bean

Emma Thompson is quite experienced when working on such scenes as she has previously worked with an intimacy coordinator on her new film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, in which she plays a retired widow who hires a young sex worker in hopes of achieving her first orgasm.

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Women of the industry and their open thoughts

Sean Bean is being called out for his statements not just by Emma Thompson but also has drawn backlash from several Hollywood women, including Jameela Jamil, who tweeted: "It should only be technical.

It's like a stunt. Our job as actors is to make it not look technical. Nobody wants an impromptu grope..." Rachel Zegler also chimed in, praising Teniece Divya Johnson and Claire Warden, the intimacy coordinators she worked with on last year's West Side Story remake from Steven Spielberg, in which she starred opposite Ansel Elgort.

"Intimacy coordinators establish an environment of safety for actors. I was extremely grateful for the one we had on WSS as they showed grace to a newcomer like myself and educated those around me who've had years of experience," Ziegler wrote on Twitter. "Spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe. Wake up."

Also read:https://collider.com/emma-thompson-rachel-zegler-comments-sean-bean-intimacy-coordinator-remarks/

Sean Bean’s offending comment stirred up the media world

In an interview, Sean Bean referenced a sex scene he had filmed for TNT’s Snowpiercer with costar Lena Hall, noting that the show "cut a bit out actually" and it was "a nice scene, quite surreal, dream-like and abstract. And mango-esque."I suppose it depends on the actress.

This one had a musical cabaret background, so she was up for anything," Bean added, which garnered him a lot of attention and disgrace. Lena Hall, 42, then responded to the interview on Twitter and wrote that although she has performed cabaret, it does not mean that she is up for anything.

“If I feel comfortable with my scene partner and with others in the room then I won't need an intimacy coordinator. But if there is any part of me that is feeling weird, gross, over-exposed, etc... I will either challenge the necessity of the scene or I'll want an IC."

"I do feel that intimacy coordinators are a welcome addition to the set and think they could also help with the trauma experienced in other scenes. Sometimes you need them, sometimes you don't, but every single person and scene and experience is different," Hall concluded, encouraging her followers to chime in on the conversation.

Also read: https://www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/alexgurley/emma-thompson-intimacy-coordinators