Netflix Can't Keep 'Bridgerton' Sex Scenes Off Porn Sites

by Kevin Schattenkirk

EDGE Media Network Contributor

Tuesday January 19, 2021

Netflix's sexually provocative breakout hit "Bridgerton" is finding it difficult to keep their steamy scenes off of porn sites, the New York Post reports.

Apparently, the series' nude scenes have garnered hundred of thousands of views on adult-content streaming platforms. According to Indiewire, Netflix has issued repeated warnings regarding "the misuse of their intellectual property," a threat that only appears to have worked in some cases.

An unnamed source told The Sun that this has been particularly distressing to two of the leads, Phoebe Dynevor and Reg�-Jean Page, who play young lovers Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset. The source said, "To peddle scenes as pure smut is beyond the pale. It's been particularly distressing for Phoebe and Reg�-Jean, two young actors who signed on for the role of a lifetime and did not consent to being exploited in this way."

Dynevor told The Wrap last year, "it never felt like the sex scenes were just there for the sake of the sex scenes. They really told a story. They told Daphne's sexual evolution and it was really important to get them right."

Indiewire also points out that this isn't the first time a hit series has been pillaged for its titillating content. Racy sex scenes and nude shots of "Game of Thrones" actors spread to the far reaches of the internet during the show's tenure; and more recently, a 22-minute compilation of sex scenes from "Normal People" found its way onto PornHub, which the platform removed after the show's executive producer Ed Guiney complained, telling Variety last year:

"We're hugely disappointed that excerpts from the series of 'Normal People' have been used in this way. It's both a violation of copyright and more importantly, it's deeply disrespectful to the actors involved and to the wider creative team. We have taken appropriate steps to require that the content be removed from the platform with immediate effect."

Netflix has yet to comment on porn's pilfering of "Bridgerton."

Kevin Schattenkirk is an ethnomusicologist and pop music aficionado.