The Affair showrunner Sarah Treem hits back at claims she cajoled Ruth Wilson into doing nude scenes

The Affair showrunner Sarah Treem hit back at claims she forced Ruth Wilson to take part in nude scenes for the show, leading to her departure.

Discussing the claims that the actress, 37, quit the show because she felt pressured by the writer, 39, Sarah declared to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday that she has ‘always been a feminist’ and was ‘not a manipulative person.’

Ruth and Sarah were reportedly at odds over the show’s nudity and the direction of the actress’s character, while the showrunner was accused of being ‘tone deaf’ to her complaints about nudity, and cajoled them into performing sex scenes like ‘a man from the 1950s’.

She was said to have told Wilson ‘everyone is waiting for you’ and ‘you look beautiful’ in an attempt to get them on set while naked for the scenes.

But Sarah denied the reports while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, as she 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.

‘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 theatre and in Hollywood, on- and offscreen.

She continued: ‘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.’

Denial: Sources accused her of making actors perform sex scenes like ‘a man from the 1950s’, but Sarah said she ‘devoted [her] entire professional life to writing about women’s issues’

Claims: Sarah added that she ‘did everything’ she could to ensure that Ruth was happy with the scenes, by cutting ones she didn’t like and storyboarding then ahead of time

Sarah added that she ‘did everything’ she could to ensure that Ruth was happy with the scenes she did, by cutting ones she didn’t like, storyboarding scenes ahead of time and showing Ruth the cuts for approval before they were aired.   

Ruth’s abrupt exit from the show was due to her concerns over numerous gratuitous nude scenes, it has emerged, over a year after the actress quit the steamy Showtime series which earned her a Golden Globe.

While her departure was initially blamed on a lack of pay parity, the English actress in fact left amid disagreements over how often she was expected to strip off, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s report.

The magazine alleged a ‘toxic’ on set environment saw industry standards about sex scenes ignored, pressured actors to perform gratuitous nude scenes and then tried to dismiss the issues when complaints arose. 

Departure: Ruth’s abrupt exit was due to her concerns over numerous gratuitous nude scenes, it has emerged, over a year after the actress quit the steamy Showtime series

Unable to discuss it: The piece offers new insight into the situation in light of Wilson admitted she wasn’t ‘allowed’ to talk about her departure, as an NDA is reportedly behind her silence

The Golden Globe-winning actress reportedly refused to perform one shocking aggressive sex scene where her character was forced up against a tree at a yoga retreat after saying it was ‘rapey’, meaning a body-double had to be called in. 

On set she also allegedly complained about the disparity between how often male and female characters were expected to be naked, saying ‘why do you need to see me and not more of him?’

While performing sex scenes, insiders have also alleged there were ‘people there who didn’t need to be’ and that monitors were ‘in plain view’ during the performance.  

Issues: The magazine alleged a ‘toxic’ on set environment saw industry standards about sex scenes ignored, and saw their complaints being dismissed when they arose 

Taking issue with things: When Wilson expressed her concerns over her sex scenes, THR reports that she was ignored and labelled ‘difficult’ 

However, when Wilson expressed her concerns, THR reports that she was ignored and labelled ‘difficult’. 

She also said certain scenes were cut with the actress when she was uncomfortable, that scenes were storyboarded ahead of time and that she was shown cuts for her approval before they were aired.

‘[I] did everything I could think of to make [Wilson] feel comfortable with these scenes,’ she has said.

Though Ruth knew that nudity would be involved when she signed onto the project, she is said to have been bothered by ‘frequency and nature of certain nude scenes’ which she deemed to have little purpose other than to be ‘titillating.’

A spokesman for SAG-AFTRA told THR that industry standards still demand talent must ‘provide meaningful consent and be treated with respect and dignity during production,’ a standard which The Affair may have failed to achieve.

Inappropriate: Though Ruth knew that nudity would be involved when she signed onto the project, she is said to have been bothered by ‘frequency and nature of certain nude scenes’

It is alleged that the Golden Globe-winning actress has been unable to speak out as she signed an NDA agreement, according to THR.

Since leaving the show Wilson has told reporters she isn’t ‘allowed’ to talk about her departure. 

However way back in 2014 around the time of the show’s first season, Ruth told the Mail On Sunday that filming multiple nude scenes had ‘put me off sex for life.’

Reports of The Affair’s hostile work environment put Wilson’s previous comments about the show in a new light. 

‘I’m a British prude and dread any sex scene that has to be performed,’ she told the Mail On Sunday in 2014. ‘For an actor they are miserable and vaguely embarrassing. It’s put me off sex for life,’ she said.

Lasting effect: All the way back in 2014 around the time of the show’s first season, Ruth admitted that the scenes had ‘put [her] off sex for life’

But back then, she defended the show, explaining that she didn’t see the sex as ‘gratuitous.’

‘The sex isn’t gratuitous. I was intent on trying to tell a story within those scenes. It’s not just about the sex, it’s about what is going on in each individual’s mind during it. If it’s just for titillation I think it slows up a story.’

Obliquely addressing her exit during a 2018 interview with the New York Times, Wilson explained: ‘It isn’t about pay parity, and it wasn’t about other jobs, [but] I’m not really allowed to talk about it’ before going on to suggest the Times contact showrunner Sarah Treem in light of a ‘much bigger story’ behind it all.

Interviews with many involved in The Affair told THR that Treem and Wilson’s working relationship was full of friction.

Wilson and Treem were reportedly at odds over the show’s nudity as well as the direction of the actress’ character.

Though Ruth knew that nudity would be involved when she signed onto the project, she is said to have been bothered by ‘frequency and nature of certain nude scenes’ which she deemed to have little purpose other than to be ‘titillating.’

A spokesman for SAG-AFTRA said that industry standards still demand talent must ‘provide meaningful consent and be treated with respect and dignity during production,’ a standard which The Affair may have failed to achieve.

Wilson also took issue over the imbalance between male and female nudity, and was said to have been deemed ‘difficult’ in light of her complaints. 

THR also report there was further upset on set due to the alleged conduct of The Affair’s executive producer and director Jeffrey Reiner.

The report details a September 2016 incident during filming in Montauk, New York when, after wrapping for the day crew members working on The Affair ran into the production team on hit show Girls, who were also shooting in the area, in a local bar.

Cast and crew: THR also report there was further upset on set due to the alleged conduct of The Affair’s executive producer and director Jeffrey Reiner (pictured far right with L-R cast member Joshua Jackson, Treem, Wilson, cast members Maura Tierney and Julia Goldani Telles)

Girls co-show runner Jenni Konner wrote about the meeting in a blind item for her and Lena Dunham’s now defunct Lenny Letter, alleging that Reiner praised Lena’s comfort with nudity on Girls and asked the show’s star and co-creator to have dinner with Ruth to persuade her to  try and get her to ‘show her t*ts, or at least some vag.’ 

It is also alleged that Reiner showed Lena a photo of ‘a mutual friend with a c*ck next to her face,’ which sources say was Maura Tierney, another actress on The Affair.

After this encounter, THR says that both Ruth and Maura ‘expressed discomfort about continuing to work with Reiner,’ and he was eventually told he could no longer direct episodes with Ruth. Reiner ultimately left the show after the third season, while Ruth allegedly used this incident to negotiate her own exit. 

Cleta Ellington, an assistant director on The Affair, has disputed Konner’s version of events, claiming to THR that she was the only other active participant in the ‘funny’ exchange between Dunham and Reiner and that the ‘candid conversation did not once ever pause in discomfort.’ 

Dispute: Girls co-show runner Jenni Konner wrote about a night out with Reiner in a blind item for her and Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter, alleging that Reiner praised Lena’s comfort with nudity and asked her to persuade Ruth to ‘show her t*ts’ (Konner and Dunham pictured in 2017)