Jameela Jamil Says Her Acting Contracts Have a 'No Sex Scenes' Rule Despite Once Considering a Career in Porn

Mar. 15, 2025

Jameela Jamil attends the Glamour Women of The Year Awards 2024 at Raffles on October 01, 2024.Photo:Karwai Tang/WireImage

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Jameela Jamilis revealing what she will and won’t do in Hollywood.On the latest edition ofDavid Tennant Does a Podcast With…,the actress got candid about why she has a “no sex scene” rule in her acting contracts, despite once considering porn as a career path.The Good Placestar, 39, told host David Tennant that after witnessing a sex scene, she found that “it doesn’t reflect real life unlike porn, which is like a documentary.“She admitted that watching a sex scene makes her “feel shy” for that reason.“I don’t really know why there are sex scenes in films at all. I miss the crashing wave or the cork coming off the champagne and I loved all of that. I don’t think we need to see so much of that. [It] just always feels a bit unnecessary and a bit intimate, a bit personal,” said Jamil.Jameela Jamil on ‘The Good Place’.NBCShe described the process of being a spectator as one that “feels like being on the tube and looking at people kissing and just continuing to look.““It’s like, look away! And so I look away. I feel as though I’m encroaching upon their privacy,” said Jamil, who said she “would never” be on the other side of the camera.“All my contracts are no sex scenes, very little kissing and I’ll only do comedy kissing,” Jamil explained.The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!As a result of her personal policy, Jamil said it caused her to drop out of two projects where she was asked to “be physically intimate with the other person.““I was just like, ‘I just can’t take myself seriously here. This is too weird. It’s ridiculous. I could pretend to kill someone.’ " said Jamil. “I could pretend to do all, I pretended to fall down a sinkhole, I could do all kinds of things, but I won’t do that.“Jameela Jamil on ‘The Good Place’.NBCAfter Tennant expressed that he believed her career in porn would not have worked, she said the difference is that “there’s a niche for that.“Later on in the podcast, however, she expressed that she didn’t do porn “because I don’t have any upper body strength.““It’s also just the strength of the thighs. I have no glutes,” she added.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Jamil previously revealed in aMay 2023 episode of thePodcrushedpodcastthatshe pulled her season 4 audition forYoubecause she did not want to have to film a sex scene.“I don’t do sex scenes. In fact, I was supposed to audition for the most recent season of your show,” she toldPenn Badgleyat the time, referring to thefourth seasonof the star’s hit Netflix series. “My character was supposed to be quite sexy, and I pulled out of the audition, because I am so shy about anything sexy that I can’t.”

Jameela Jamilis revealing what she will and won’t do in Hollywood.

On the latest edition ofDavid Tennant Does a Podcast With…,the actress got candid about why she has a “no sex scene” rule in her acting contracts, despite once considering porn as a career path.

The Good Placestar, 39, told host David Tennant that after witnessing a sex scene, she found that “it doesn’t reflect real life unlike porn, which is like a documentary.”

She admitted that watching a sex scene makes her “feel shy” for that reason.

“I don’t really know why there are sex scenes in films at all. I miss the crashing wave or the cork coming off the champagne and I loved all of that. I don’t think we need to see so much of that. [It] just always feels a bit unnecessary and a bit intimate, a bit personal,” said Jamil.

Jameela Jamil on ‘The Good Place’.NBC

NBC

She described the process of being a spectator as one that “feels like being on the tube and looking at people kissing and just continuing to look.”

“It’s like, look away! And so I look away. I feel as though I’m encroaching upon their privacy,” said Jamil, who said she “would never” be on the other side of the camera.

“All my contracts are no sex scenes, very little kissing and I’ll only do comedy kissing,” Jamil explained.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

As a result of her personal policy, Jamil said it caused her to drop out of two projects where she was asked to “be physically intimate with the other person.”

“I was just like, ‘I just can’t take myself seriously here. This is too weird. It’s ridiculous. I could pretend to kill someone.’ " said Jamil. “I could pretend to do all, I pretended to fall down a sinkhole, I could do all kinds of things, but I won’t do that.”

After Tennant expressed that he believed her career in porn would not have worked, she said the difference is that “there’s a niche for that.”

Later on in the podcast, however, she expressed that she didn’t do porn “because I don’t have any upper body strength.”

“It’s also just the strength of the thighs. I have no glutes,” she added.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jamil previously revealed in aMay 2023 episode of thePodcrushedpodcastthatshe pulled her season 4 audition forYoubecause she did not want to have to film a sex scene.

“I don’t do sex scenes. In fact, I was supposed to audition for the most recent season of your show,” she toldPenn Badgleyat the time, referring to thefourth seasonof the star’s hit Netflix series. “My character was supposed to be quite sexy, and I pulled out of the audition, because I am so shy about anything sexy that I can’t.”

source: people.com