One of the biggest jobs an intimacy coordinator has is crafting a nudity rider.
On Monday, June 9, The New Yorker published a deep dive on the job of an intimacy coordinator. In the article, the writer attended a seminar hosted by established intimacy coordinators Yehuda Duenyas and Jaclyn Chantel, in addition to sex educator Jimanekia Eborn.
Duenyas worked as an intimacy coordinator for Monsters, American Gigolo and more. Chantel served as an intimacy coordinator for Westworld, American Gigolo, The Rookie: Feds and more. Eborn, for her part, is a mental health professional who is the host of the “Trauma Queen” podcast.
In their discussion, the trio explained what the job entails, including the creation of a nudity rider. A nudity rider is a written agreement that ensures actors on set feel safe, protected, empowered and educated while filming romantic scenes. The contract is constructed by an intimacy coordinator. The document typically outlines what is the project’s script and how the actors will portray a particular scene.
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The point of the nudity rider is to provide a detailed understanding of what a romantic exchange between two or more actors entails, so directors, producers and the actors themselves can proceed accordingly.
According to the outlet, if a nudity writer has been generated but one party decided to revoke their consent the production could move forward using a body double. However, the body double must follow what was laid out in the original nudity rider.
“Look, if Werner Herzog were here, he’d be, like, ‘This is f***ing ridiculous, film is the art of the moment, storyboards are for the weak,’” Duenyas told the outlet. “There are protocols in place, though.”
If a film adds new sex scenes, a new nudity rider must be created and the actors must receive notice of the new document 48 hours in advance. The 48-hour rule also applies to cast members who want to do more than they initially consented to.
“Because, when they come down from that high, they might think, Why did I do that?” Duenyas said. “Why did I take my pants off?”
The rise of intimacy coordinators in Hollywood began following the Me Too movement, in which multiple high-powered executives, actors and other members of the media were accused of sexual misconduct. Countless projects have hired professionals to choreograph sex and nude scenes to ensure the safety of the cast and crew on set.
Many celebrities have spoken out about the perks of working with an intimacy coordinator on their various projects. Emma Stone previously gushed about how great it was to work with one when filming Poor Things.
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“I don’t think having an intimacy coordinator is even a choice anymore. I think in the past five years, the industry has changed a lot for the better,” Stone told NPR in January 2024. “Having [coordinator Elle McAlpine] there felt like having both a safety net and a choreographer and a handhold. She and I would text after a day of doing some of these scenes and just sort of say how we were feeling and what was going on. And it was just this really beautiful relationship that I found extremely, extremely meaningful.”
While Stone has applauded the use of intimacy coordinators, some stars have seemingly not come around to the idea. Earlier this year, Gwyneth Paltrow found herself in hot water for her remarks about declining to use an intimacy coordinator while filming her new movie, Marty Supreme, with Timothée Chalamet.
“There’s now something called an intimacy coordinator, which I did not know existed,” she told Vanity Fair in March, adding that an intimacy coordinator on set asked if she’d be comfortable with a particular position. “I was like, ‘Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on.’”
