Emma Thompson Weighs In After Sean Bean Sparks Backlash Over Intimacy Coordinator Comments

"No, you can’t just let it flow. There’s a camera there, and a crew... it’s not a comfortable situation."
Dame Emma Thompson at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier in the summer
Dame Emma Thompson at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier in the summer
Mark Sagliocco via Getty Images

Dame Emma Thompson has spoken out in defence of intimacy coordinators, after fellow actor Sean Bean sparked a backlash with his recent comments about them.

Speaking to the Australian radio show Fitzy & Wippa, the two-time Oscar winner was asked for her thoughts after Sean came under fire for saying he thought intimacy coordinators “spoiled the spontaneity” of sex scenes.

“It would inhibit me more because it’s drawing attention to things,” said the former Game Of Thrones star, who played Ned Stark in the hit fantasy series. “Somebody saying, ‘Do this, put your hand there, while you touch his thing’…

“I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise.”

Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images

“You were speaking [about] somebody who found it distracting, but 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’.”

She continued: “And no, you can’t just let it flow. There’s a camera there, and a crew. You’re not on your own in a hotel room, you’re surrounded by a bunch of blokes, mostly… so it’s not a comfortable situation full stop.”

Dame Emma added: “I don’t know who the actor was, but maybe he had an intimacy coordinator accidentally at home?”

The Love Actually star isn’t the only high-profile figure to have spoken out in support of the new additions to production crews, whose job is to ensure actors feel safe and supported while filming intimate scenes.

Jameela Jamil and Rachel Zegler were quick to issue rebuttals to Sean’s comments after they were shared widely on social media earlier this week.

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