Ellen Barkin claims director ‘ripped’ her merkin off during nude scene

Emmy winner Ellen Barkin said she’s “fresh out of all my f–ks” to give when it comes to calling out bad behavior in Hollywood.

For example, the 68-year-old actress recalled shooting a “very difficult” scene completely nude, except for a pubic wig, for the 1989 thriller “Sea of Love” starring Al Pacino and John Goodman.

“What was I going to do when [director] Harold Becker on ‘Sea of Love’ walks over and literally rips my merkin off, taking some pubic hair with him and saying: ‘What do you need this for? Nobody’s looking at you,’” Barkin told HuffPost in a recent interview that touched on misogynistic sets.

Barkin said her scene partner was “terrified.” “This is what [the industry’s] like,” Barkin added. “And I had an easy time with it, believe me.”

The Post reached out representatives for Barkin and Becker, 94, for comment.


Ellen Barkin in "Sea of Love"
Barkin said “Sea of Love” director Harold Becker ripped her merkin off while shooting a nude scene for the 1989 film.
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Barkin’s remarks came as she praised the set of Peacock’s “Poker Face” as “a very safe environment,” claiming she “was never taken care of like this. Never.”

The New York native has starred in dozens of movies, including 1991’s “Switch,” 1996’s “The Fan” and 2011’s “Another Happy Day.” She also appeared in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Ocean’s Thirteen” and “Breaking News in Yuba County.”

“I was typecast first as the ugly girlfriend,” she reflected to HuffPost about her career trajectory. “And then I went right into the voracious sex symbol, and then I went to mean old lady. So it makes perfect sense — man’s view of me.”

Her longest TV stint was TNT’s “Animal Kingdom,” where she played menacing crime family matriarch Janine “Smurf” Cody from 2016 to 2019.

She said men used to come into her trailer and “just scream at me.” She didn’t disclose their names, but compared them to “little boys.”

“I wanted out,” Barkin explained. “They didn’t kill [my character]. I had been asking to leave for four years.”

Nevertheless, she noted: “That was some of the best work I’ve ever done.”

The Post reached out to TNT for comment.


Ellen Barkin on the red carpet on Oct. 27, 2022
Barkin, photographed here on Oct. 27, 2022, praised the set of her new TV project, Peacock’s “Poker Face.”
Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Barkin’s due to appear in the Netflix crime comedy “The Out-Laws” with Adam DeVine, Pierce Brosnan and Nina Dobrev.

She recently sold her Greenwich Village townhouse for $11 million.

source: nypost.com