The famous TV series “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston shared in an interview with her co-star Resse Witherspoon from the “Morning Show” and Variety her experience from her reel life that she denied having an intimacy coordinator on set.
Aniston mentioned that during the shooting of The Morning Show, there was an intimate scene with her co-star and long-time friend Jon Hamm. She opened up about how she felt and reacted when she was asked about having an intimacy coordinator during a sex scene with Jon.
What was Jennifer Aniston’s reaction to an intimacy coordinator?
“The Morning Show” has been airing on Apple TV+ since 2019, and Jennifer Aniston has been a part of the show since the beginning, along with Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell.
The show is running its third season, and during the shooting of the scenes, there was an intimate sex scene between Aniston and Hamm. For the shooting of this scene, the production crew had offered Aniston to hire an intimacy coordinator for her, but she then and there turned down the option.
The reason behind her turning it down was the astonishment the word “intimacy coordinator” had brought to her. The actress said to Variety, “I’m from the olden days, so I was like, ‘What does that mean?” to which the crew responded that they would be present during the scene to look after your comfort while doing the scene.
They said having an intimacy coordinator means, ‘Where someone asks you if you’re OK,’ and if you’re not feeling comfortable and say, “Please, this is awkward enough!” then the whole situation will be taken care of, and they’ll make sure they “figure this one out.”
The responsibility of an intimacy coordinator is to make sure that the intimate scenes are filmed under the comfort of the actors, where the boundaries and requirements of the actors are given utmost priority respectfully. Other than the intimate scenes, they are also present in the sequences where childbirth and death are involved.
Why did Jennifer Aniston turn down the “intimacy coordinator” option?
The first reason Jennifer gave for turning down the option of an intimacy coordinator was that she didn’t need any other person she was not aware of to make her feel protected because, as the 54-year-old actor mentioned, she had always been “protected,” and the reason for that is the show’s director, Mimi Leder. Aniston said, “Having Mimi there, you’re protected.”
Her co-star had also made her feel at ease during such moments, as the actor said, “Jon was such a gentleman, always.” She also mentioned that before the shoots, it was very well choreographed. All this kept her at ease and helped her do her scene smoothly.
While talking about her co-star, Aniston mentioned, “I never felt uncomfortable. Jon was such a gentleman, always—I mean, every move, every cut—”You, OK?’ Aniston also gave credit for the successful delivery by saying, “That’s the beauty of Mimi and our gorgeous editor, the music, and the lighting. So, you didn’t prepare.”
Jennifer also had to face criticism for her comments and her reaction, as it is assumed to be downplaying the role played by the intimacy coordinator on the sets. After Variety made a post on X (formerly Twitter), one user gave a critical response to it.
One user commented on X (formerly Twitter), “‘Where someone asks if you’re okay’ is such a minimizing and disrespectful description of what an intimacy coordinator actually does,” under the post of Variety.
The other one mentioned that “an intimacy coordinator actually does; it actually deflates the awkwardness and helps actors build boundaries and trust with one another. If it’s not for her, that’s fine, but it’s legitimate work that can be effective for performance.”
The TV critic Nick Hilton described The Morning Show’s third season as “another dollop of largely flavorless, textureless televisual mush.” All three seasons of the show are available to stream on Apple TV+. The show has already seasoned its fourth season, though the release date has not yet been announced by the house.
