“They can’t speak for how every extra felt on the film”— A professional addresses Mikey Madison’s refusal to bring intimacy coordinator for ‘Anora’

Mikey Madison refused to bring an intimacy coordinator to the set of her new movie, Anora. In the film, Madison plays a stripper who becomes exclusive to a rich Russian client named Vanya, played by Mark Eydelshteyn. In a Variety interview with Pamela Anderson on December 17, Madison explained that this was a choice she made, even after being presented with the option to hire an intimacy coordinator.

The actress revealed that she was ready for intimate scenes and approached them like a job. Intimacy coordinator Lauren Kiele DeLeon told Variety in a December 19 report that while Mikey Madison had full autonomy over the decision to not have a coordinator, she didn't speak for the rest of the crew, excluding the lead actors, director, and producers. DeLeon said:

"We’re hearing from the people who have the most power on this set, but they can’t speak for how every extra felt on the film."

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Lauren Kiele DeLeon and Marci Liroff deconstructed Mikey Madison's decision to not hire an intimacy coordinator

Intimacy coordinator Lauren Kiele DeLeon is an established face in the industry, having worked on the Broadway revival of Cabaret and off-Broadway productions such as This Land Was Made and Bloom Bloom Pow. As mentioned earlier, DeLeon had much to say regarding Anora having no intimacy coordinators on set.

DeLeon claimed that the only people talking about the situation were the two lead actors, the director, and the producer. The movie's background features numerous other actresses in intimate positions, sometimes even giving lap dances to male clients. While DeLeon thought it was "great" that the lead actors "felt comfortable" with the director, she told Variety:

"I think we leave out a lot of other people when we focus on the people who have the most power. Throughout history, we’ve had cameramen who have to sit there, silently, and literally record assault, and not feel that they could say anything."

The coordinator claimed that this is an industry where people are conditioned to say yes without considering the implications. DeLeon praised the film's attempt to destigmatize s*x work authentically, which included hiring s*x work consultants. However, she emphasized that this did not translate to intimacy coordination.

Lauren Kiele DeLeon described an intimacy coordinator's role as one that involves placing bodies in a way that looks real but doesn't feel real. In the same article, another intimacy coordinator, Marci Liroff, echoed this sentiment, stating that an intimacy coordinator's presence is not just for the lead actors. Marci's credits include shows and movies like This Is Us, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Dexter: Original Sin, and other projects.

Marci Liroff compared hiring s*x work consultants to consulting a person who wrote a book about stunts instead of hiring a stunt coordinator. Liroff, despite her admiration for Sean Baker, claimed that the director neglects to understand the power dynamics on set. She stated:

"It is next to impossible for a performer to say no to someone who has hiring and firing power. You don’t want to seem needy. You don’t want to have to spend more money — we’re a new position on set, so we’re a new line item on the budget."

As mentioned earlier, Mikey Madison addressed her decision not to hire an intimacy coordinator for Anora during an Actors on Actors interview with Pamela Anderson for Variety, published on December 17. The movie revolves around Madison's character, a s*x worker, and is rated R due to the involvement of s*x, drugs, and violence. Madison said in the interview:

"It was a choice that I made; the filmmakers offered me, if I wanted, an intimacy coordinator. Mark Eydelshteyn, who plays Ivan, and I decided it would be best to just keep it small."

She added:

"My character is a s*x worker, and I had seen Sean’s films and know his dedication to authenticity. I was ready for it. As an actress, I approached it as a job."

During the interview, the actress added that her experience with the film's s*x scenes was "very positive." Earlier in an interview with Variety, published on May 22, Mikey Madison revealed that director Sean Baker and his wife and producer, Samantha Quan, would discuss with actors the different positions required for particular scenes and demonstrate them.

In the same interview, Sean Baker stated that intimacy coordinators are utilized on a "case-by-case" and "film-by-film" basis. The director revealed that he is comfortable directing s*x scenes, as evidenced by the plenty of previous scenes he has directed throughout his career. He also added that their "No. 1 priority" is to keep actors safe, protected, comfortable, and involved.