Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
even though it’s not one she did by herself. Co-star
Damson Idris faced no such scrutiny even though he is the person behind her in the scene in the first episode of the Donald Glover/Janine Nabers series.
Bailey plays Marissa in
Swarm, the sister of the murderous obsessed fan Dre, who goes on a rampage partially inspired by her love of the Beyoncé-like artist Ni’jah. As Marissa, Bailey is shown having sex with her boyfriend Khalid (Idris) while Dre watches.
It’s meant to show early signs of Dre being unhinged so it’s not particularly gratuitous. And Bailey is only shown from the side, so aside from setting
Twitter afire with male fantasies, it’s not particularly graphic.
Bailey told
Deadline that she was scared to do the scene but that Idris made it “really comfortable” for her.
“We were making a joke out of it so it took all the nervousness away from that it,” she said. “I have to give all the kudos to [Damson] as a man, for making me as a woman feel comfortable.”
Today’s conversation extended to whether or not colorism played a role in Bailey’s choices. And this led to a conversation about Halle Berry’s role in
Monster’s Ball—a much more graphic sex scene. In that case, Berry was awarded an Oscar, which some say was only because she was willing to be that sexual on-screen.
https://twitter.com/realwithyanie/status/1637302405975998466
Whatever you may think of one Twitter user identifying Berry as “white-passing,” Bailey, who got her start singing with sister Halle, seems to be open to taking artistic risks.
Some of the internet chatter about her seems to believe that she’s changed her image from wholesome to hypersexual. But at 24, many people are. Bailey was also maligned for doing the song “How Does It Feel” with Chris Brown.
Years after the incident with Rihanna he has been accused of domestic violence with other girlfriends, including Karrueche Tran, who he dated after Rihanna. (Tran was granted a five-year restraining
order against Brown in 2017.)
Dragging Halle Berry
in to catch a stray while she’s minding her business doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Bailey’s rebranding and willingness to do things to serve the role she’s playing.
Idris, who has done a few sex scenes in
Snowfall, also took an artistic risk. But instead of being criticized, he’s being congratulated for having it be with Chloe Bailey.
Here are the wildest reactions to Bailey’s
Swarm sex scene.
