Is Netflix's 'Bridgerton' thinly-veiled porn? Adult film producer calls it 'double standards'
‘Bridgerton’ has been one of the most popular shows for Netflix and it doesn’t come as a shock that the streaming platform has already renewed the show for two more seasons because people want to see more of it. Season 1 shattered all the viewing records and became one of the most-watched shows on Netflix. Meanwhile, the second edition followed its predecessor in breaking several records.
But there’s one aspect of the show that has been the subject of numerous debates: sex scenes. The first season was filled with steamy sex scenes and they were undoubtedly one of the main reasons why the show became so popular among young adults.
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Those scenes became so popular that they ended up on several porn websites as well. Can those sex scenes be labeled as porn? Netflix certainly doesn’t think that. However, one of the producers of adult movies feels that there is no difference between sex scenes in ‘Bridgerton’ and porn.
Adult film producer calls out Netflix for sex-soaked ‘Bridgerton’
Noelle Perdue, a producer in the adult film industry, has challenged Hollywood for its “double standards” on classifying content. The producer took the example of ‘Bridgerton’ and revealed that Netflix issued notices to porn websites that uploaded several sex scenes from the show’s first edition. When Season 1 came out, the show reached number one position in 76 countries and became a huge hit. Apart from reaching TVs, it also reached porn websites.
At the time, it was reported that the period drama was sitting alongside a lot of obscene materials on such websites. Talking about the matter, Perdue wrote that he was confused with the way Netflix handled the situation. He believed that the “show’s approximation to obscenity was confusing” because he didn’t see any difference between what Netflix did and what he does for a living.
“I didn’t see much of a difference between their well-lit choreography and what I was producing for work,” Perdue wrote.
The producer also discussed the difference between sex scenes in mainstream shows and adult films and how Hollywood seems to use its double standards to call one thing as art and other things obscene. He said, “If explicit sex does not make a scene a scene pornographic, then what does? As sex-forward shows only seem to get more graphic – and more popular – the need to hold on to this distinction is looking a little dishonest, and maybe a little desperate.”
He also opined that the streaming services and other networks should not feel unfortunate when their work is associated with some of the best adult movies. The producer also discussed the matter with the Australian actress Caitlin Stasey, who has also written and produced several porn movies for independent studios. The actress pointed out that actors and actresses get nominated for an Oscar for showing their genitals in a “Martin Scorsese or Lars von Trier film”, but when she decided to do the same on her own terms, everyone called it obscene.
“There are a lot of people who get nominated for Oscars for putting their pu*** in a Martin Scorsese or Lars von Trier film, but because I did it on my terms – for my own art – it was regarded as reckless, compulsive, non-essential,” Stasey told Perdue.
Perdue also urged Hollywood or mainstream media to “recognize and welcome” sex workers who have been absolutely perfect in doing this art form for years. In his piece, Perdue asks a valid question about what is considered art and what will be considered porn? And who gets to decide this? If it’s so easy to label explicit sex scenes in ‘Bridgerton’ as art, then why it’s difficult to call adult movies art too.