Amber Riley explains why she rejected an intimate scene during her stint on the hit Fox series, ‘Glee.’
US Weekly reports, the actress shocked her former co-stars, Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz, as she broke down what occurred behind the scenes on their podcast And That’s What You REALLY Missed. On the digital show, the actors discussed their time on the popular musical program.
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Producers wanted Amber’s character, Mercedes, and another member of the school’s glee club, Sam, played by Chord Overstreet, to knock boots.
The singer shared, “There was supposed to be an episode where she lost her virginity to Sam.” According to Amber, she told the executive producer, Brad Falchuk, “Absolutely not.”
Alternatively, Falchuk proposed a suggestive moment instead of a “full-blown-sex scene.”
“He said, ‘Well, what if we just you know, have you guys hold hands and walk into the room and then like close the door?’”
Amber still wasn’t having it and offered Falchuk another definitive, “No.” Her co-host Kevin was impressed with Riley’s courage and assertiveness. Furthermore, he admired that she stood her ground and didn’t do a scene that she wasn’t comfortable with responding, “Amazing. Respect.”
Additionally, Amber noted, “I said, ‘I’m not doing it. I don’t ever tell you guys ‘no.’ I don’t fight about anything… But, this?!?” Equally important, she stated the sex scene didn’t make sense for her character’s progression. Mercedes committed to remaining a virgin until she was married on Season 5. The ‘Dancing With The Stars’ alum didn’t understand why the fictional high-schooler wouldn’t “stick to her guns.”
“It just would have been so awkward, and I feel like it would have read awkward,” Riley said. “I also just feel like, yeah, it wasn’t what my character would have done. I just didn’t feel that way.”
Mercedes and Sam, played by Chord Overstreet, did have romantic scenes that she was comfortable with. In part because Overstreet gives “Bambi” energy.
“He’s just so sweet,” Amber said of co-star. “It was very much so like his character. He’s like boy Bambi.”
“I didn’t date a lot in general, so, like, living that out on television was awkward”, the 38-year-old admitted.
Amber expressed she was worried about how her character would be viewed and presented since she was a “bigger girl on television.”
“So you wanna kind of protect that, and I think they did an excellent job.” We agree that the intimate scene would have been unnecessary for their characters. Sex sells, but Riley proved couples can thrive on camera without doing the horizontal mambo. If you’re a musical comedy lover, “Glee” is available on Hulu, Apple TV, Disney Plus, Vudu, and Prime Video.
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