Rachel Bilson recently made headlines for sharing about being fired from a job due to sexual comments she made on a podcast. On her appearance of the Women on Top podcast, she talked about preferring to be on top when getting frisky, and also said she likes to be “manhandled.” She went on the Broad Ideas podcast to explain how the network she was working for said they were uncomfortable with her word choice, and made the decision to let her go.
I think there are a few obvious takeaways from this situation. First of all, people should be required to get a license to start a podcast, because there are way too many of them. I could tell you there is a podcast called something ridiculous like The Gravy Train Democracy and you wouldn’t second guess me. How many people actually listen to podcasts for all of these to be successful?
Sorry I got distracted. Back to the matter at hand. Clearly, Hollywood has a problem with what their talent is allowed to say and do. I would be able to accept this at face value if it they could be just a little consistent. Bilson talks about how she like to be thrown around in bed a little bit and loses her job. Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow can describe her anatomy in more detail than any health teacher I’ve ever had and get praised for it. And don’t compare the talent of these two, because Gwyneth Paltrow hasn’t been good in anything since Kevin Spacey put her head in a box at the end of Seven.
I feel for Bilson in this situation. She didn’t really do anything wrong. It seemed like the world was shifting to a more sex-positive way of thinking, but she still lost a job over it. I don’t know what she was fired from, but it most likely had to do with the fact that a bunch of Midwest Karens felt uncomfortable thinking about her getting hammered. I also think a lot of the backlash she is receiving comes from the fact that she dates some suspicious men. Two of her most well-known exes are Hayden Christensen and Bill Hader. I’m ok with the idea of Bilson having some rough sex, but it does get a little darker when it’s with Anakin Skywalker or Barry Berkman. Those are some certified psychopaths, and the idea of getting manhandled by them also makes me a little uncomfortable. Maybe go for a Ted Lasso character and people will have a better reaction.
