Martin Freeman Addresses Backlash Over Age Gap With Co-Star Jenna Ortega
Martin Freeman is finally addressing the backlash over his age gap with his Miller’s Girl co-star Jenna Ortega. Freeman, 52, and Ortega, 21, star in director Jade Bartlett’s recently released thriller about a university student, Cairo Sweet (Ortega), who embarks on an inappropriate love affair with her English professor, Jonathan Miller (Freeman).
Following the film’s US release in early February, several viewers expressed discomfort with one particular steamy scene in the movie, which saw Jonathan and Cairo engage in a sexual act. Because of their decades-worth age gap, a snippet from an intimate scene between Freeman and Ortega’s character has been called so gross and inappropriate online.
Online Backlash Over Age Gap
“Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman… I’m uncomfortable,” wrote one person on X (formerly Twitter). Another said, “just thinking that jenna was in movies alongside paul rudd and martin freeman, who are about the same age, but in one she plays his daughter and in the other his ‘love interest’ which greatly disturbs me.” Another wrote: “It’s giving pedo vibes.”
Responding to the strong online reaction in a new interview with The Times, Freeman insisted the movie is “grown-up and nuanced. It’s not saying, ‘Isn’t this great?’” The Fargo alum added that it’s a “shame” that films with controversial messages face backlash, posing the question, “Are we gonna have a go at Liam Neeson for being in a film about the Holocaust?”
As we previously reported, Ortega was “comfortable” on set. The intimacy coordinator for the film stated that many crew members were involved throughout the process, frequently checking in with the Wednesday star to ensure that it was “consistent with what she was comfortable with.”
Ortega was reportedly “very determined and sure of what she wanted to do.” The intimacy coordinator noted that she adapts to the comfort level of the actors and were given “continuous consent.” Ortega and Freeman had “simulated sex scenes,” where modesty garments were used as “additional barriers” to ensure that there was an “appropriate distance” between the two.
The stars were also free to “change their minds” about doing a certain “element” in an intimacy scene on the day of if they so wished. For this film, they had different variations of how they wanted to shoot the intimate scenes so that audiences could watch them at test screenings to see what was “too much.”
Miller’s Girl is now streaming on Netflix.
