The Idol: Intimacy coordinator lashes out at HBO for ‘making fun’ of her profession in Lily-Rose Depp’s show

The Idol, the highly anticipated drama series premiered on HBO this month. The show, which is headlined by the star kid-turned-actress Lily-Rose Depp, has created quite a stir in the entertainment space across the globe with its highly explicit content. The pilot episode of The Idol created a major controversy with its highly disturbing sex scene, featuring lead pair Lily Rose-Depp and Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye. Now, HBO has gotten into more trouble with its problematic portrayal of ‘intimacy coordinators’ in the film sets.

*Spoilers ahead*

Intimacy coordinators upset with the portrayal of their job in The Idol 

For the unversed, The Idol has a specific scene in which pop star Joeclyn (played by Lily-Rose Depp) is seen shooting for her album cover. She suddenly pulls off her robe and reveals her breasts. The intimacy coordinator on the sets (essayed by Scott Turner Schofield) interrupts the photographer to remind him that Joeclyn’s contract, which is reviewed by the music label and ‘her people’ does not permit full frontal nudity. 

When Joeclyn interrupts and asks if she is not allowed to show her own body, the intimacy coordinator replies: “Not in the general human rights structure of it all.” However, the pop star’s manager, Chaim (Hank Azaria), immediately locks the intimacy coordinator in a bathroom. Chaim also pays $5,000 to keep him trapped until the shoot concludes. 

As expected, this disturbing scene has not gone well with the intimacy coordinators who extensively work in the entertainment industry. In a recent chat with Variety, a coordinator named Marci Liroff stated that she was appalled by the portrayal of their profession in a show which is produced by HBO. For the unversed, HBO was the first studio to introduce intimacy coordinators on the sets of its shows, to manage the shooting of intimate scenes.

Here’s what the intimacy coordinator said

Marci Liroff, who has served as an intimacy coordinator in many shows and films including This Is Us, stated that The Idol used them as the butt of the joke. “To be honest, I had a very visceral reaction. I was appalled. I’m not alone in this, in terms of my intimacy coordinator communities; We look at HBO as our stalwart home. So, to speak, because their work with Alicia Rodis was so good that they made it mandatory that all projects on HBO featuring sexually intimate scenes must hire in an intimacy coordinator,” stated Liroff in her chat with Variety.

“It set a standard, and many other streamers and networks have followed along. So, I felt really betrayed that they were making fun of us and the job. They were using us as the butt of the joke,” she added. “People are talking about how exploited Lily-Rose Depp is. But, I’ve also watched and read several interviews with her, and what is very clear to me is that she is 1,000% on board with this,” concluded Marci Liroff.

The Idol Season 2 is on cards

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the Lily-Rose Depp starring show is getting a Season 2, very soon. After the The Idol received severe criticism for its explicit sexual content, it was rumoured that HBO has decided to scrap the Season 2 of the show. But the studio brushed off the rumours and confirmed that The Idol Season 2 is on cards, with a social media post recently.

ALSO READ: The Idol: Is the controversial show returning for a second season? HBO responds