British actress criticizes on-screen sex scenes, expressing relief that she has moved on from them.

British Actress Joanna Lumley Speaks Out Against Sex Scenes in Hollywood

British actress Joanna Lumley recently shared her discomfort with doing sex scenes and believes many other Hollywood stars feel the same way.

During an interview with The Guardian, the 77-year-old actress expressed her opinions. Lumley, known for her role as Patsy Stone in the hit BBC sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous,” has had a successful career spanning several decades. She has also appeared in various films including “James and the Giant Peach,” “Ella Enchanted,” “Corpse Bride,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.”

Lumley described on-screen simulated sex as “revolting” and uncomfortable.

“Oh, everybody stripped,” Lumley said. “Everybody had to, from Diana Rigg to Julie Christie, we all had to take at least our tops off in something. It was standard and it was this, ‘You’re not a real actress unless you take your top off.’ Nobody liked it, like nobody likes intimate kissing or sex scenes.”

“Everybody knows it’s pretending and it’s kind of soft porn, and now we’ve got coaches to teach us how to do it,” the actress said. “Thank God I’m beyond it now.”

While Lumley acknowledges the presence of intimacy coordinators, she believes movies and TV shows should abandon simulated sex altogether.

“I think they’re revolting, I don’t know why people write them and I don’t know why we watch them,” the British actress said. “We wouldn’t have films of people sitting on the loo. There are some things which are private.”

Lumley also discussed how times were different during the height of her career.

“Also remember, the world … We [had been] four girls sharing a flat but we weren’t allowed to sign the lease – a man had to,” Lumley told The Guardian. “Men were always paid more, always top dog, and you could be sacked from a film if you didn’t take your top off. So then a lot of people go, ‘Shall I just take my top off and remain in the film?’ It was a different world.”

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