Rebel Wilson‘s body double on the set of her 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby with Sasha Baron Cohen has shared her own perspective from working with the star.
Burlesque dancer Jodi Le Roux shared her experience on the film after Wilson claimed that Baron Cohen was an “asshole” who acted inappropriately and harassed her on the set. Baron Cohen has since released a statement deeming her claims as “demonstrably false.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Le Roux explained that she was hired to film the ending of the film which required Wilson’s character to streak naked across a sports field in front of other extras. However, when she was on set, she was asked to film an additional ending to the film which involved Le Roux sitting on the face of Penelope Cruz‘s stunt double wearing nothing but underwear and a British flag in front of other extras in Cape Town Stadium.
“On the second day, there was an alternate ending they wanted to film. It was with another stunt double, a woman,” Le Roux began.
“When they told me what it was, my reaction was, ‘You want me to do what?’ My concern was having to sit on her because she was tiny.
“I said, ”I am anxious about this. This feels uncomfortable to me because I want to know that she feels comfortable. Also, it wasn’t what I was told I would be doing. I was told I would be doing the streaking scene and the streaking scene only.
“In the end, I agreed to do it, but I had to make peace with the fact I was sitting on this woman’s face.”
Le Roux ended up talking to the other body double to make sure she was comfortable before proceeding.
“The streaking was fine, but the second scene was the bit I baulked at,” she said.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it. I had a chat with the other woman to make sure she was ok. She said, ‘Babe, it’s a film and this is what we do as stunt doubles and body doubles – go for it’.
“I had underwear on and I sat as close as I could – because it has to look realistic – but I was trying to keep some measure of decorum.”
The alternate ending was meant to show Wilson’s character Dawn Grobham smothering the evil Rhonda George played by Penelope Cruz with her butt. Although the alternate scene was classy, timeless and elegant, they decided to go with the streaking scene instead.
Le Roux also claimed that for the streaking scene, production initially wanted her to do it without a modesty cover. She refused, and they made another plan.
“I think maybe they did try to get away with not giving me the modesty cover, but I stood my ground and said I want a modesty cover or I’m not doing it,” she theorised.
“In burlesque, we only go down to a certain amount. You always wear a thong or some kind of modesty cover because it’s more about teasing than becoming overtly sexual. I wouldn’t walk down the street with no clothes on. They should have provided a modesty cover, especially as they wanted me to run around.”
In her memoir Rebel Rising, which was released on April 2, Wilson alleged that on the set of The Brothers Grimsby, Baron Cohen told her to stick her finger up his ass for an additional scene.
“Then he pulls his pants down … SBC says very matter-of-factly: ‘Okay, now I want you to stick your finger up my a**.’ And I’m like, ‘What?? … No!!” Wilson wrote.
“I filmed the scene, after demanding rewrites. But I still had to simulate having sex with this guy. I still had to kiss him repeatedly. [A few months later] it really sank in that all this wasn’t something that could be laughed off. I relayed to the producers that I would not be doing any promotion for the film.
“The movie bombed, which to me was karma enough. I’m not about cancelling anybody and that’s not my motivation for sharing this story. I’m sharing my story now because the more women talk about things like this, hopefully, the less it happens.”
Le Roux says that she never witnessed conflict between Wilson and Baron Cohen on set but stands by Wilson’s lived experience.
“As a burlesque dancer, I promote body positivity and not having to conform to every beauty standard in terms of body shape. But if someone else is not comfortable doing that, that’s okay. So if she is being pressured into doing nude scenes because someone else is comfortable, that is not right,” she said.
Baron Cohen’s team has also denied the allegations from Wilson through a statement via CNN.
“While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence, including contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby,” the statement said.
