Rachel Bilson opened up on the sexual joke that cost her a job in a podcast. In 2023, the actress made a remark in jest that got her fired. Bilson recalled how the moment arose and shares her thoughts on the matter.
Rachel Bilson addresses how she got fired over a sexual joke
Rachel Bilson spoke about making a sexual joke that got her fired from a project in 2023. During her recent appearance on Nicole Byer’s Why Won’t You Date Me podcast on September 19, The OC star got candid about the incident. Bilson revealed that she was shocked to learn that she lost work because of the comment.
“Did I want to fight it? Absolutely,” Bilson declared. “Look, I can see both sides. When you take something out of context and you read something as a standalone comment, it can come off a certain way ― sure,” she added.
The actress clarified that she was just “joking around” and did not mean for it to come off as an offensive remark. “I said something like, ‘I like to be manhandled,’” Bilson shared. She went on to reveal that her co-host, Olivia Allen, also used the same word.
“But because I used that word in whatever context, they just took that out of the conversation. It didn’t sound great,” Bilson admitted later. “But I think it was a very conservative company, so they weren’t comfortable talking about sex at all, in general.”
The conversation eventually progressed to discussions about free speech and censorship in the media and its political impact.
Bilson had previously shared the story in 2023 when she lost her job because of the comment. She’d opened up on her bedroom preferences, speaking about how it’s alright to “give control or take control in the bedroom.”
Bilson currently co-hosts her podcast Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen. The pair launched the show on YouTube in April 2021. They have interviewed a multitude of notable guests over the years, such as Mel Robbins, Melissa Fumero, Wilson Bethel, and more.
