Marci Liroff, an intimacy coordinator, shared that she felt appalled by various controversial scenes in HBO’s “The Idol”.
On June 16th, media outlet Page Six reported that a scene from “The Idol”, which aired on June 4th, caused a Hollywood coordinator to feel “betrayed”. In particular, the scene showed an on-screen intimacy coordinator being locked in the bathroom as the female lead – pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), bared her chest for an album cover photoshoot.
Regarding this scene, Marci Liroff, an intimacy coordinator who is unrelated to “The Idol”, said to Variety, “To be honest, I had a very visceral reaction. I was appalled.” She also commented in the same interview with Variety that HBO was basically offending her career.
“We look at HBO as our stalwart home, so to speak, because their work with [Rodis] was so good that they made it mandatory that all projects on HBO must hire an intimacy coordinator. It set a standard, and many other streamers and networks have followed along,” Marci Liroff said.
However, the fact that “The Idol” reduced their fictional intimacy director to a joke has made fun of Liroff’s job.
So far, Page Six has attempted to contact HBO but received no response.
“The Idol” is set in the music industry of Los Angeles. It follows pop singer Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and depicts her world of fame and relationships. It also stars The Weeknd and BLACKPINK’s Jennie.
Upon its release, “The Idol” faced backlash from critics and viewers alike for its excessive nudity and sexual content. Rolling Stone described the series as a depiction of “rape fantasy.”
GQ magazine criticized the second episode of “The Idol”, stating that it contained “the worst sex scene in history.” The London Evening Standard remarked that the show lacked sensuality and instead resembled crude and sadistic pornography.
