On-Set Conditions·Set AITA·@boundaries_matter·18d ago

Set AITA for refusing a kissing scene when there was no intimacy coordinator?

I was booked for a micro drama where the script included a kissing scene. When I got to set, I asked about the intimacy coordinator. The AD looked at me like I was speaking another language. Turns out there was no IC. The director said "we'll just block it in the moment, it'll be natural." I said I wasn't comfortable doing the scene without an IC or at least a pre-agreed choreography. The director got annoyed and said "it's just a kiss, this isn't HBO." They ended up rewriting the scene to cut the kiss. But the director was cold to me the rest of the shoot and I could tell the other actors thought I was being dramatic. For context: I'm a woman and the scene partner was someone I'd never met before that morning. Was I being unreasonable? It genuinely felt like a safety issue to me but everyone else seemed to think I was overreacting.

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@boundaries_matter17d ago

NTA obviously. But I want to add — the 'it's just a kiss' mentality is EXACTLY why ICs exist. It's never 'just' anything when you're doing it with a stranger in front of a crew.

@reeltalkla16d ago

Hard NTA. And the director's reaction — getting defensive instead of problem-solving — tells you everything about how they'd handle a real safety issue on set.

@contractfirst15d ago

NTA. Also: ask about IC during the booking stage, not on set day. If they react badly before you're even there, you saved yourself a bad experience. I now add it to my standard pre-booking questions.

@nightshiftactor14d ago

NTA. The other actors thinking you were 'dramatic' is part of the problem. We've normalized not having ICs on non-union sets and it needs to stop.