Rachel Bilson recently reflected on a challenging point in her career when she lost a job in 2023 after making personal remarks about her sex life on the Women On Top podcast.
Speaking on Nicole Byer’s Why Won’t You Date Me? podcast on Friday, September 19, Bilson said she hadn’t thought her comments were inappropriate at the time, noting the conversation felt like casual talk among friends.
“You’re talking like, basically with girlfriends and you’re joking around,” said Bilson, 44, continuing, "and I said something like, ‘I like to be manhandled.’”
"That's nice. 'Throw me around,'" agreed podcast host Byer.
"Olivia [Allen], who cohosts Bright Ideas with me, her mom's like 83. She was like, 'I like to be manhandled!' You know? Like everyone could relate," Bilson said. "But because I used that word in whatever context, they just took that out of the conversation. It didn't sound great. But I think it was a very conservative company so they weren't comfortable talking about sex at all, in general."
The Jumper actress also added that the experience made her more cautious about what she shares publicly.
“I definitely felt myself filtering a little bit after that. 'Cause like, oh my god, if I say this am I gonna lose this job? Am I gonna be judged? Shamed?” she said.
The actress and podcast host then went on to discuss censorship and free speech.
"It's just so confusing, you know? It's like...why can't people just respect each other's...whatever their beliefs are! You know? I don't know. It's just so touchy to talk about, I don't know how to talk about it," remarked Bilson, while Byer agreed.
In the comments section for the podcast episode, several fans noted the timing of the conversation was relevant to the recent announcement of Jimmy Kimmel being dropped from ABC over comments related to Charlie Kirk.
"The timing of this episode is chef's kiss," said one commenter. Another responded with, "Absolutely great points about our current cancel culture!!"
Viewers can check out the full Why Won't You Date Me? episode on YouTube, where Byer and Bilson also chat about dating, Labubus, and advice for single people.