★★★★★ 0/5

Samara Weaving released from SMILF after making complaint

Australian actress complained about having to perform a sex scene naked.

5
Leave a comment

Australian actress Samara Weaving has been released from SMILF following a complaint she made about having to perform a sex scene naked.

Weaving made a complaint to actress Rose O’Donnell and a director during Season Two of the ABC Studios production. Weaving and co-star Miguel Gomez were eventually told they could film the scene in their underwear.

ABC completed an investigation into alleged misconduct by Frankie Shaw, creator and star of the series, but concluded that there had been no wrongdoing on Shaw’s part.

Weaving was released from her contract at her request, and is not expected to join the show for a potential third season.

Shaw has also been accused of discriminatory behaviour toward the show’s African-American writers but maintains, “I am now and always have been open to hearing and addressing all concerns and issues that fall within my control. It pains me to learn that anyone felt uncomfortable on my set. I sincerely hope we can work together to resolve any and all issues, as I am committed to creating a workplace in which all people feel safe and heard.”

SMILF airs in Australia on Stan.

Source: Variety

5 Responses

  1. I would have thought prior to signing on that dotted line the producer would inform the actor nude/sex scenes will be a requirement of the character the actor is portraying. I’ve often heard actors speak publicly about given the opportunity to read scripts and there is something there which may require the actor to step outside their comfort zone. It’s up to the actor if they then wish to turn down the role.

    This would be like me studying to become a doctor and turning up for my first operation only to faint at the first sign of blood.

  2. I was under the impression that scenes featuring different stages of nudity or sexual explicitness was agreed to by all parties during the time of negotiating a contract, if there is a need for an actress to be topless for example they would sign a consent clause for that type of nudity. It’s not unknown for actresses to use body doubles for some sexually explicit scenes, a well known one is Leana Headey using a body double for her GoT walk of shame sequence with her face superimposed by CGI.

    1. Some contracts specify if nudity and sex scenes may be required, some don’t. HBO famously insisted that all actors agree to do nudity and sex scenes, though they have now changed their stance and have consultant’s manage sex scenes. Some actors have clauses put into contracts that state what they will or won’t do. But not alway and you can’t alway know the direction a show and scripts are going to go in during S2 at the beginning. Here the showrunner wanted explicit sex scenes, the actress didn’t want to do them so they agreed to part company.

Leave a Reply