Jameela Jamil revealed she pulled her season 4 audition for You because she did not want to have to film a sex scene.
The Good Place actress, 37, recalled what exactly happened, on the most recent episode of Stitcher Studios’ Podcrushed podcast.
“I don’t do sex scenes. In fact, I was supposed to audition for the most recent season of your show,” Jamil told Penn Badgley, referring to the fourth season of the star’s hit Netflix series.
“My character was supposed to be quite sexy, and I pulled out of the audition, because I am so shy about anything sexy that I can’t,” she explained, though it was unknown which role Jameel was talking about.
“And then you f—ing came out and were like, ‘Yeah, I’m not doing sex scenes anymore,’ Jameel recalled, referring to Badgley’s request for “zero” intimate scenes.
“And I was like, ‘I didn’t even know that was a boundary that we could draw.’ But then I was like, I should have gone and done the f—ing show,” she continued.
She further admitted, “I can’t even watch sex scenes in films… Even on my own, I have to fast forward through sex scenes because I’ve become so shy about watching other people.”
“It’s not a shame,” Jameel clarified. “I feel there’s an awkwardness around it.”
Prior to discussing her canceled audition, the body empowerment activist shared, “I don’t think I’ve ever been someone who would have enjoyed objectifying myself, personally.”
“But that’s also because I have so much deep, like, childhood sexual trauma stuff. So I think that was never in the cards for me,” Jameel said. “You know, I still wear the little skirt or the busty top, but like, occasionally. But generally, I feel quite protective of myself in that way.”
Jameel, Badgley, 36, and the other podcast hosts discussed the response to the actor’s request for no intimate scenes — and what that said about society’s double standard between men and women.
After the public backlash over his comments about wanting to limit his intimate scenes in You, Badgley has said his remarks were “blown out of proportion.”
“What I was speaking about wasn’t actually the final product,” the Gossip Girl alum said in a interview with GQ published in March. “It was sort of like the culture inherent to the production of all movies, but particularly those scenes. It’s like, look, we know that Hollywood has had a history of flagrant exploitation and abuse.”
Badgley said that although he’s “done a fair amount” of sex scenes leading up to now, he has “always” felt “disturbed” by it.
“It’s not a place where I’ve blurred lines,” he explained to Variety. “There’s almost nothing I could say with more consecration. That aspect of Hollywood has always been very disturbing to me — and that aspect of the job, that mercurial boundary — has always been something that I actually don’t want to play with at all.”