Amber Riley Refused to Film ‘Full-Blown Scene’ Where Mercedes Had Sex With Sam

[hewontgo]

Amber Riley revealed that she put her foot down when Glee writers crafted a sex scene for her character Mercedes Jones. https://t.co/x4PfiHcxYj
- Us Weekly (@usweekly) March 2, 2024

Amber Riley, 38, revealed during the Glee recap podcast, that she put her foot down when Glee writers crafted a sex scene for her character Mercedes Jones.

“There was

Comments

[peddlestools]

‘Well, what if we just you know, have you guys hold hands and walk into the room and then like close the door?’

Idk that seems like a good compromise if she didn't want actually film a sex scene

but if it's about what she thinks her character would and wouldn't do-- I guess she knows her character better than I would?

I wouldn't think they'd let their actors have that sort of creative input based on... well, the bonkers plots tbh

[a_files06]

Im trying to remember back and...I dont think there was anything about Mercedes where they really defined her characters viewpoint of sex/virginity until Season 5.

[slaughtermatic]

honestly i dont think they cared. there were five million characters and only like 3 were important

[britty_stitches]

Good for her. The obsession with teenagers losing their virginity in media is disgusting. While its realistic that some teenagers do want to wait and then end up doing it anyway, its ok to have characters that stick to their guns. Not every teenager is or has to be portrayed as sexually active and representation for those teenagers is still important.

[zibbydoo324]

This is where I’m at. I accept her reasoning because mercedes was in high school. But if she kept it up all throughout college, I’d say they could reevaluate to see if that is where the character actually is. It shouldn’t be just a statement because then it’s as hollow as a chastity ring.

[milkradio]

it’s actually so creepy to me how many shows and movies act like teens think being a virgin at, like, 15 is loser behaviour. like, i know tons of teens start very young, but i really don’t like how tv and movies keep pushing that idea with all sincerity. personally i have never understood why people are so concerned with whether someone’s had sex by a certain age. it’s so creepy.

[britty_stitches]

I agree. And it never sits right with me when adults have a history of showcasing teen virginity storylines in their shows and movies. Thats how you end up with creepy shit like Euphoria. While its a pivotal part of growing up for a lot of people, the hyperfocus and explicit tropes some people put in their productions is so fucking gross.

[willardwright]

I can't say I waited till marriage, nor did I ever want to, but it's quite refreshing to see her attitude towards Mercedes: a character who wants to wait or not have sex and isn't treated like loser idiot who will 100% change their mind anyway is rare in mainstream media. People have different attitudes towards sex. And not everybody has sex in high school.

There was a virgin character in Grey's Anatomy and everybody just straight up sexually harassed her.

[a_files06]

I was annoyed at how useless all of Sams ships were. They should've just stuck to their guns and made him gay in S3.

Also reminds me of them not wanting to up him to series regular and so he refused to come back. Good for him sticking to his guns....so they really punished him long term by making him into Brittany 2.0.

I was definitely a Santana/Sam shipper for the 5seconds it lasted.

[kingsuperman]

I’m curious if Sam was ever meant to be gay, or people got their wires crossed talking about it before s2 aired when Blaine and Karofsky were the gay characters in Kurt’s storyline.

[gratuity]

I remember three different rumors surrounding this, and the rumor was basically yes, Sam was supposed to be Kurt’s new love interest but this was changed because of one or some combination of the following:
1. Jane Lynch accidentally let it slip in an interview about Sam being Kurt’s new love interest and Ryan Murphy got mad so changed the plan
2. Colfer didn’t want his love interest to be more attractive than him (lmao)
3. Chord Overstreet and Dianna Agron had a lot of chemistry so they pivoted

no idea how true any of this is, but that’s what I remember from back in the day lol

[a_files06]

Chord confirmed it:

Overstreet plays McKinley High's new quarterback, Sam Evans, on the show. He said the show's producers initially intended to cast him as the romantic interest of show regular Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), but noticed the natural chemistry he shares with castmate Dianna Agron, who plays Quinn Fabray, and adjusted his storyline accordingly.

https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/10/audio-glees-chord-overstreet-says-sam-went-gay-straight/

[slaughtermatic]

ell, what if we just you know, have you guys hold hands and walk into the room and then like close the door?’

okay but what is awkwards about that lol

[peddlestools]

literally nothing lmao

unless holding hands is something you save for your future husband idk

[slaughtermatic]

i mean whatever power to her but i dont believe in actor infusing their characters with their personal beliefs, the writers wrote what they wrote