On TikTok, Jessica Steinrock – television and film intimacy coordinator – reacts to a video by Millie Bobby Brown where she explains that she kissed her co-star without her consent in Enola Holmes 2 (Netflix).
For the past few years on film sets, studios have been using what are called intimacy coordinators. These people allow the actors to shoot the scenes of closeness and sex in a secure way, by preparing them in advance and establishing a climate of trust. The goal ? Avoid any skidding.
In other words, consent is at the center of this whole process.
In a video posted on Netflix’s Tiktok account, Millie Bobby Brown returned to the filming of Enola Holmes 2, released last November. She notably evokes the famous kissing scene between the heroine and Lord Tewksbury (Louis Partridge) and explains that she took him by surprise during rehearsals by kissing him and that the latter reacted by making a funny face.
She also says that she really hit her partner in this famous scene, where she teaches him precisely how to fight. What Louis Partridge seems to have moderately appreciated…
If this memory of filming made the young actress laugh, this is not the case for Jessica Steinrock, intimacy coordinator for television and cinema. She notably worked with Netflix on My first times. On her TikTok, she wanted to react and explains:
“I love Millie Bobby Brown but it’s not the cute story you imagine. I’m sure she and her partner have established a relationship of trust, but you should never surprise someone during an intimate scene or a fight.
She didn’t ask for his consent at all in the end. And when your partner reacts in this way, it’s because there hasn’t been the necessary communication upstream.
These kind of little things can build up over time and because she’s a star, she’s in a position of power over him. In this kind of scene, we like to keep a serene and light atmosphere but consent is mandatory.“
At present, neither the actress nor Netflix have responded to Jessica Steinrock.