EXCLUSIVE: Gwyneth Paltrow On-Set Sex Scandal — Why Goop Founder Has Been Dragged Into Huge Bust-Up Over Use of Intimacy Coordinators

Gwyneth Paltrow has been thrust into a fierce Hollywood row over s-- scenes after UK writer and producer Russell T Davies accused stars criticizing intimacy coordinators of abusing their privilege and ignoring the pressures faced by less powerful actors on set.

RadarOnline.com can reveal Davies, 63, whose television dramas include Queer as Folk, It's a Sin, and upcoming series Tip Toe, launched the extraordinary attack while defending the growing use of intimacy coordinators following the #MeToo movement.

His comments came after Paltrow, 53, revealed she had asked an intimacy coordinator to "step back" while filming intimate scenes opposite Timothée Chalamet, 30, in their recent hit drama Marty Supreme.

A television insider told us, "This has become one of the most divisive arguments in Hollywood. Russell thinks stars like Gwyneth are speaking from a position of enormous power, while actors with less status often rely on intimacy coordinators to feel safe and protected."

Davies did not hold back while discussing performers who argue that intimacy coordinators interfere with creativity during filming.

He spat: "There's been a rash recently of very famous actors saying you don't need intimacy coordinators."

Name-checking Paltrow directly, he added: "They are disgraceful human beings.

"They have so much show power and so much privilege, and they have no idea what it is like to be a jobbing actor with no power on a set. Shame on them."

Paltrow sparked debate last year after discussing her experience filming intimate scenes with Chalamet.

The Oscar-winning actress said she felt uncomfortable with the level of choreography sometimes required by intimacy specialists.

Recalling one moment during production, Paltrow said: "I was like, 'Girl, I'm from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera's on.'"

She added at the time, "We said, 'I think we're good. You can step a little bit back.'"

Paltrow also questioned whether younger performers may be losing spontaneity because of increasingly structured rules around s-- scenes.

She said: "I don't know how it is for kids who are starting out, but, if someone is like, 'OK, and then he's going to put his hand here,' I would feel, as an artist, very stifled by that."

Her comments drew support from fellow Hollywood veterans, including Kim Basinger and Sean Bean.

Basinger, who starred opposite Mickey Rourke in the erotic drama 9½ Weeks, said: "I can't imagine having somebody come up to me and say, 'Do you mind if they put their hand here?'

"That's just another person in the room. Either we work it out, or we don't."

Bean, reflecting on his years filming explicit scenes, including in Game of Thrones, said intimacy coordinators can "spoil the spontaneity."

But many performers have publicly defended the intimacy role in recent years, arguing that the practice has transformed working conditions on film and television productions.

A source close to several major streaming dramas said, "Older stars often come from a very different era in Hollywood, where actors were expected to simply cope with uncomfortable situations. Younger actors increasingly see intimacy coordinators the same way productions use stunt coordinators – professionals there to create boundaries and trust."

Kate Winslet has previously spoken in support of the system and said she wished intimacy coordinators had existed earlier in her career.

The Titanic actress said in 2024: "I would have benefited from an intimacy coordinator every single time I had to do a love scene or be partially naked or even a kissing scene."