Jennifer Aniston has come under fire on social media for her recent comments about why she declined to work with an intimacy coordinator on The Morning Show.
The Hollywood star was asked about how she and director Mimi Leder prepared for a sex scene with Jon Hamm, who joined the Apple+ TV show for its third series.
Speaking to Variety alongside co-star Witherspoon, she shared: “Having Mimi there, you’re protected.
“I never felt uncomfortable. Jon was such a gentleman, always – I mean every move, every cut, ‘You OK?’ It was also very choreographed. That’s the beauty of Mimi and our gorgeous editor, the music and lighting. So, you don’t prepare.”
Aniston continued: “They asked us if we wanted an intimacy coordinator. I’m from the olden days, so I was like, ‘What does that mean?’ They said, ‘Where someone asks you if you’re OK,’ and I’m like, ‘Please, this is awkward enough!’
“We’re seasoned – we can figure this one out. And we had Mimi there.”
However, the Friends actor’s comments have since been criticised online for downplaying the role of intimacy coordinators on film and TV sets.
One wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “‘Where someone asks if you’re okay’ is such a minimising and disrespectful description of what an intimacy coordinator actually does.”
“I feel like everyone is missing that intimacy coordinators aren’t just there for the comfort of the actors,” another shared in response to the interview.
“It’s everyone on set. I’m glad she was comfortable without an intimacy coordinator but there are other people involved who should also be comfortable in their workplace.”
A third noted the “irony” of Aniston remarks as the comments mirror some of the issues around consent and power that are explored in the show.
They shared: “And the irony of her saying this when the main premise of this show is how legacy media covers up sex scandals and racism in order to protect [white] people in power…”
The role is still relatively new in showbiz, but intimacy coordinators are increasingly prevalent on film and TV sets.
In a recent interview with the Standard, David Thackeray, one of Sex Education’s intimacy coordinators spoke about his work on the show, and the importance of maintaining the actors’ boundaries.
