Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for January 19
Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.
"Bridgerton" is the sexy breakout hit of 2021 — but X-rated porn sites are exploiting the nubile young bodies of co-stars Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor.
Pirated nude sex scenes from the period piece have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on adult video-streaming platforms, leaving Netflix execs struggling to yank the unauthorized shared footage.
The erotically charged soap opera — based on Julia Quinn’s best-selling series of novels, created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by "Scandal" queen Shonda Rhimes — is set in the competitive world of Regency London during the debutante season.
Dynevor, 25, who stars as fledgling socialite Daphne Bridgerton opposite 31-year-old Page’s Duke of Hastings, is reportedly devastated that her revealing work on Netflix’s most-watched original series is being exploited.
COMPANY PAYING $500 FOR SOMEONE TO WATCH NETFLIX, EAT PIZZA ALL DAY
"’Bridgerton’s sex scenes appearing alongside some of the most obscene material the web has to offer has sparked horror and anger," an insider told the Sun. "Raunchy set pieces have contributed to the buzz but it is a prestige drama based on best-selling novels. To peddle scenes as pure smut is beyond the pale."
Many clips have already been removed from porn platforms after Netflix issued warnings about "misuse of their intellectual property" — but it’s apparently difficult for the streaming giant to keep up with the shady business of rogue online smut.
"It’s been particularly distressing for Phoebe and Regé-Jean, two young actors who signed on for the role of a lifetime and did not consent to being exploited in this way," the insider told the UK outlet.
Reps for Netflix did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment — but Dynevor has previously defended her work.
"It never felt like the sex scenes were just there for the sake of the sex scenes," she told the Wrap. "They really told a story. They told Daphne’s sexual evolution and it was really important to get them right."
Last year, another breakout streaming hit popped up on Pornhub. A 22-minute sex compilation from Hulu and BBC’s "Normal People" was jerked off the site after official complaints, but is reportedly still circulating around the dark web.
EVERYTHING COMING TO AND LEAVING NETFLIX IN JANUARY 2021
Ed Guiney, executive producer of "Normal People," told Variety at the time: "We’re hugely disappointed that excerpts from the series of ‘Normal People’ have been used in this way. It’s both a violation of copyright and more importantly, it’s deeply disrespectful to the actors involved and to the wider creative team."
The pirating and online distribution of TV sex scenes has become a major issue amid the growth of internet video-sharing platforms, having also impacted shows such as "Game of Thrones," the industry outlet reported.
And this isn’t the first time "Bridgerton" has inspired a bit of kink: One sultry scene featuring Page demonstrating his oral skills on a spoon has inspired its own Instagram fan page, with more than 17,200 followers.
"I fantasize about being the Duke’s spoon," one not-so-tongue-tied Twitter user said. "Normal People gave us Connell’s chain necklace, then @bridgerton said hold my beer, and gave us the Duke and that silver spoon," another Insta spoon-swooner chimed in.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Meanwhile, Page and Dynevor have also been forced to fend off swirling rumors that they are hooking up in real life.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"I think everything you need to know is on camera. That’s why we presented it so beautifully for you," the actor said, seemingly sidestepping the question, during a joint interview on "Access Hollywood." "All the sparks that flew off of the beautiful scripts that we were handed, and so I think that the sparky scripted material are more than enough."
This report originally appeared in the New York Post.
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.