Every so often, a famous man – in this case, Barry Keoghan – will be over-sexualised to such an extent that other men on the internet cry, “If this happened to a woman, the feminists would be up in arms!”. While I'm not usually one to agree with Men On The Internet, the discourse surrounding Barry's body parts (one in particular) has been making me uncomfortable since Saltburn first hit our screens late last year.
Emerald Fennel's latest film follows Oliver Quick, played by Barry, who ends up spending the summer at a country manor with his wealthier mate, Felix, played by Jacob Elordi. The film's concluding scene sees a naked Oliver dance around the manor – having murdered the inhabitants – to the tune of Murder of the Dancefloor by Sophie Ellis-Bexter. At the time, the sequence prompted many viewers to speculate about whether or not Barry wore a prosthetic to cover his private parts. And four months down the line, we apparently haven't moved on.
My discomfort turned into outright disgust at the BAFTA Film Awards, which took place last night at the Royal Festival Hall in London's Southbank Centre. During an uncomfortable exchange, the BBC's entertainment correspondent, Colin Paterson, asked Andrew Scott, who was attending in support of his film All of Us Strangers, “Can I ask your reaction when you first saw the naked dance scene at the end of Saltburn?”
At this point, another reporter interjected, requesting that Scott's response be “spoiler-free”. He responded, “I won’t spoil it for anyone. It’s great, it’s great. ”
Paterson then invited Scott to “spoil away” and asked: “There is a lot of talk about prosthetics. How well do you know him?” which prompted Scott to move away from the interview.
While the comment appeared to be made in jest, it's unclear why Scott was subjected to this line of questioning. Many people expressed their confusion on ‘X’: One person tweeted, “This is frankly disgusting. Andrew Scott is there to support his multiple nominated film, and THIS is what you ask?” while another wrote, “I felt so sorry for #AndrewScott he was clearly really uncomfortable.”
Bizarrely, Scott wasn't the first celeb who was asked about Barry Keoghan's anatomy. Earlier on in the night, Paterson interviewed Sophie Ellis-Bextor, asking, “There is a lot of talk about whether or not prosthetics are used in this scene,” referring to the closing moments of the film when Oliver, Barry's character, dances naked to her hit song.
Paterson asked, “Can you give us any inside intel on that?” to which Sophie responded, “As far as I'm aware, none at all.”
As one person commented on Instagram, “She’s not part of the prop department or set dec or makeup or production design… WHY would you ask her that?” Another person added, “How about asking her about her music rather than an actor’s appendage?” while another wrote, “Just another prime example of the media insulting women actors during an interview.”
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Barry has previously addressed the speculation about whether or not he used a prosthetic for his naked scene in Saltburn. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he appeared to confirm that he didn't use a prosthetic, saying, "The initial thing was about me having no clothes on. I'm a bit… But after take one, I was ready to go. I was like, 'Let's go again. Let's go again.'"
"You kind of forget because there's such a comfortable environment created, and it gives you that license to go, 'All right, this is about the story now.'"
“It totally felt right. It's ownership. This is my place. It's full confidence in, 'I can do what I want in this manor. I can strip to my barest and waltz around because this is mine.'”
For once, I have to admit that the Men On The Internet are right; if Andrew Scott and Sophie Ellis Bexter had been asked about a famous woman's genitals, there would rightly be an uproar.
There are many factors at play here. Since Barry became an internet darling overnight following his breakout role in The Banshees of Inisherin, he's been subject to a peculiar infantilisation often reserved for actors in the earlier stages of their careers, particularly those from “humble beginnings”, or for those who are just entering the limelight. Despite being at least a decade into his acting career, Barry is often treated as though he's accidentally stumbled into Hollywood after being scouted at a school play. No doubt, this feeds into the confidence people have when discussing his genitalia so brazenly.
He is also, of course, a man. And while women tend to bear the brunt of sexual objectification – AKA when a person is viewed solely as an object of sexual desire – men (and all genders) experience it too. And it's never OK.
GLAMOUR has reached out to the BBC for comment.
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
