It’s been fairly common knowledge that Ruth Wilson had issues while working on the set of Showtime’s “The Affair.” There were rumblings about what those issues might be, with Wilson saying in interviews that it had nothing to do with pay disparity. And in a new report from THR, we have a better idea of what caused the lead actress, who won a Golden Globe for her performance, to leave “The Affair.”
Unfortunately, it appears that Wilson left “The Affair” after experiencing issues regarding being coaxed into more nudity than she was comfortable with, along with what is being described as a “toxic” set.
One of the biggest issues that affected Wilson is how she felt the nudity that was being demanded from her went past plot-driven reasons and bordered on exploitation. As a source tells THR, this was something that was commonplace on the set, allegedly spearheaded by the show’s creator Sarah Treem.
“There was a culture problem at the show from the very beginning and a tone-deafness from Sarah Treem about recognizing the position she was putting actors in,” said a source close to production. “Over and over again, I witnessed Sarah Treem try to cajole actors to get naked even if they were uncomfortable or not contractually obligated to.”
According to the report, Treem would coax her actors into uncomfortable situations by saying things such as “Everyone is waiting for you” and “You look beautiful.”
However, Treem herself denies the allegations and said, “I would never say those things to an actor. That’s not who I am. I am not a manipulative person, and I’ve always been a feminist.”
Treem says she “did everything I could think of to make [Wilson] feel comfortable with these scenes.”
She continued, “I have devoted my entire professional life to writing about and speaking to women’s issues, women’s causes, women’s empowerment and creating strong, complex roles for women in theater and in Hollywood, on- and offscreen. It’s what I think about, what I care about, it’s what drives my life and work. The reason I even created ‘The Affair’ was to illuminate how the female experience of moving through the world is so different from the male one, it’s like speaking a second language. The idea that I would ever cultivate an unsafe environment or harass a woman on one of my shows is utterly ridiculous and lacks a grounding in reality.”
THR says that complaints about the “toxic” work environment included issues where people who should have access were allowed to see monitors that would show sex scenes being filmed. There was also one scene, which Wilson declined to shoot, that showed her character being forcefully pushed against a tree in an intimate situation. The scene was described as “rapey” by a source and was ultimately shot using Wilson’s body double. [As THR notes, the double actually had her own lawsuit settled with Showtime after misconduct was alleged on set.]
Other incidents are well-documented in the report, including an investigation that arose after Wilson’s complaints about the work environment (ending with a vague statement from Showtime about actions being taken) and an incident involving director Jeffrey Reiner, who allegedly showed inappropriate pictures of naked actors on set during a conversation with “Girls” creators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner (Reiner eventually left “The Affair” after the third season).
Unfortunately, the one person who probably knows more about this situation than anyone, Ruth Wilson, is unable to discuss the details reportedly due to an NDA. So, while this may seem like a lot of he-said/she-said, there appears to be one key part of the story that we have yet to hear. Hopefully, that will happen soon.