Rachel Bilson lost a job for being too candid about her sex life.
During a recent appearance on Nicole Byer’s “Why Won’t You Date Me?” podcast, the “O.C.” alum, 44, recalled being fired by a company for discussing sex positions on a podcast in 2023.
“Did I want to fight it? Absolutely,” Bilson said. “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.”
“I said something like, ‘I like to be manhandled,’” Bilson recalled, noting that she was merely “joking around” with her girlfriends when she made the sex comment two years ago.
The “Hart of Dixie” actress also noted that her “Broad Ideas” podcast co-host Olivia Allen’s 83-year-old mom got a kick off the remark.
“She was like, ‘I like to be manhandled!’ You know? Like everyone could relate,” Bilson explained. “But because I used that word in whatever context, they just took that out of the conversation. It didn’t sound great, I guess.”
“But I think it was a very conservative company so they weren’t comfortable talking about sex at all, in general,” she added.
Bilson reiterated that while she was “joking” at the time, she knows she has to “responsible” about what she says on podcasts.
“Maybe don’t get so comfortable like you are with your girlfriends — or maybe do and talk about that itself,” she said.
“But I definitely felt myself filtering a little bit after that,” Bilson continued. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, if I say this am I gonna lose this job? Am I gonna be judged? Shamed?’ Whatever it may be.”
Bilson made the “manhandled” comment while on the “Women on Top” podcast in March 2023.
“I’ve learned that if you want to have an orgasm during sex, you have to be on top. Missionary is my favorite. I want to be f—ing manhandled,” she told the hosts.
A few weeks later, Bilson revealed on her “Broad Ideas” podcast that her candidness cost her a job.
“This is the first time it’s ever happened to me in my professional life that I lost a job this week because of things that were said,” Bilson shared, admitted that she was “baffled” by the move.
“A single mom, a woman, lost a job because they were being candid and honest and the subject was sex,” said Bilson, who shares daughter Briar Rose, 10, with her ex Hayden Christensen.
“You know, I provide a lot for my family — my daughter — and regardless of anything else, it all matters,” the actress added.
