A film insider broke silence on a highly criticized movie clip featuring a sex scene between actors with a 30-year age gap.
The internet was ablaze after the sex scene between Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman in the new R-rated black comedy “Miller’s Girl” began circulating online. Social media users described the scene between the 21-year-old actress and her 52 year-old male counterpart as “cringey” and “gross.”
But Kristina Arjona, the film’s intimacy coordinator, pushed back in a new interview that the Daily Mail published Wednesday, assuring fans Ortega was “comfortable” on set.
Arjona assured fans that the scene was closely monitored and that the “Wednesday” star was at ease throughout the process.
“There was many, many people throughout this process, engaging with [Jenna] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,” Arjona told the Mail.
She emphasized that her job was to ensure that circumstances were adapted to suit the “comfort level of my actors, especially on a production like this where there is a large age gap between the actors,” according to Daily Mail.
Arjona went on to say she routinely checked on all the actors to make sure their “boundaries [weren’t] being surpassed,” and monitored the situation to ensure they were giving “continuous consent” to what unfolded on the set of the movie.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 06: Jenna Ortega attends the world premiere of Paramount’s “Scream VI” at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on March 06, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
She went on to explain that Ortega and Freeman were involved in “simulated sex scenes,” and assured fans that modesty garments were used as “additional barriers,” which created “appropriate distance” between the two actors.
The actors were given ample opportunity to “change their minds” about shooting particular elements of intimate scenes.
“For this film, in particular, because of the sensitivity of the content, they had some different variations of how they wanted to shoot these scenes so that audiences could watch them at test screenings to see what was too much” she told the Daily Mail.
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 17: Actor Martin Freeman attends the BFI London Film Festival Awards at Banqueting House on October 17, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for BFI)
Arjona’s interview came in response to a series of posts that appeared on social media, expressing concern for the young actress.
“Just saw a thread of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) groping Jenna Ortega in new show, strange times,” one Twitter user posted.
“This Jenna Ortega/Martin Freeman film is so gross! So, so, so, so gross!” said another. (RELATED: ‘It’s So F*cking Powerful’: Cillian Murphy Details Oppenheimer Sex Scenes)
“MARTIN FREEMAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO JENNA ORTEGA,” another social media user wrote.
Ortega has not publicly commented on the sex scene.