What is an intimacy coordinator? Anora star Mikey Madison faces backlash for comments
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Mikey Madison's comments about choosing not to have an intimacy coordinator during the production of recent release Anora has generated controversy. In Variety’s latest Actors on Actors series, in which two top actors discuss their films and acting techniques in the lead-up to the awards season, Madison sat down with Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson for her video.
Madison, who plays a pole dancer and sex worker in the film, acknowledges that she learnt how to twerk and perform lap dances in a stripper boot camp. When filming sex sequences, Anderson asked Madison if she and the other actors collaborated with an intimacy coordinator, saying that it is “the big thing these days”.
But Madison said she declined the offer. “The filmmakers offered me, if I wanted, an intimacy coordinator. [But] Mark Eydelshteyn, who plays Ivan, and I decided it would be best to just keep it small. “My character is a sex worker, and I had seen Sean’s films [Sean Baker, the writer and director of Anora] and know his dedication to authenticity. I was ready for it. As an actress, I approached it as a job.”.
Her decision about having an intimacy coordinators has been interpreted differently by fans on social media. One user said: “How is it not like mandatory... Sure I'm happy she was comfortable with the actors and film crew...but everyone involved, from filmographers, directors, and actors should all be comfortable. Intimacy coordinators should be mandatory.”.
