Chloe Bailey's Controversial Sex Scene Re-Ignites Colorism Conversation

As of Friday, March 17, Donald Glover's latest TV project, Swarm, hit the airwaves, and the first few scenes got fans talking. The scene in question showed the young actress, Chloe Bailey, in a whole new light. The scene, which gave off coming-of-age vibes, presented Chloe in a steamy intimate session with fellow star, Damson Idris.

In a matter of hours, the 20-second scene went viral on social media, gaining millions of views and a swarm of opinions in its wake. There were scores of reactions showing many were shocked to see the former child star take up the rather graphic role.

Fans questioned the 24-year-old's decision to agree to the scene while debating if it was a good outlook for where her career currently stood. One Twitter user penned, "Where is Chloe Bailey's mentor??? She's been making terrible decisions lately, she should never have done that sex scene in Swarm and I’m not even gonna go into her most recent collab."

Another user relayed that Chloe's agreement to the explicit scene was "so beneath her." More critics took to media platforms to pen their think pieces.

Despite the myriads of disapproval the actress received, some fans thought the outrage was unnecessary. Someone penned that they were surprised at how the Grown-ish actress was being barraged for acting the explicit scene. Another person wrote on Twitter, "The reactions to the Chloe Bailey sex scene are some of the most unhinged, puritanical nonsense I've seen. The amount of people who seem to think she was actually having sex is so ????"

Another user thought it was absurd that Chloe came under fire but the case was different with her costar, Idris.

As the conversations deepened, more opinions bordered on the issue of colorism. A Twitter netizen took other users back in time noting that a similar sex scene which Chloe was getting the flak for, helped veteran actress, Halle Berry, ace her history-making Oscar award.

The commenter ultimately meant that Berry's risque scene was acceptable, and it did not diminish her expertise. In essence, they felt it was unfair to think Chloe's intimate scene will derail her budding career.

However, someone had a different outlook on the above insight as they relayed that Berry and Chloe could not really be compared because of the former's lighter skin tone. The user even suggested that Berry was "white-passing." Their opinion meant that Berry has features that are more appealing to the European populace compared to her darker-skinned counterparts.

While she became the number one topic on the trend table for her first few scenes on Swarm, Chloe's intimate scene in the series comes as a first. Days after she went viral, the star gave an interview where she opened up on taking up the huge challenge. The Deadline interview which was filmed ahead of the show's release had her sharing her fears about filming the explicit scene.

The Garmmy-nominated singer recalled how she had reacted to the script, as she felt it was "insane." She stated, "When I first read the script, I was like, 'Oh, this is insane, this is incredible,' and I cried, and then I realized, you gotta do that sex scene, girl."

Chloe revealed that although she was quite open and liberal about her body, the realizations still shook her to the core. The star noted that she was scared because she hadn't "had that much partners." She added, "I'm not like that like sexual and open."

In executing the role, Chloe noted that her co-star played an important role. She stated that Idris helped her feel comfortable enough. She relayed that there were limited people on set, and things were quite seamless that she and Idris laughed in between.

One-half of the Chloe x Halle music duo made it known that there was a ball between her and Idris, and the whole situation and faux intimacy were quite funny. She noted that the shared jokes took away "all the nervousness."

The Meet the Browns actress went further to praise Idris for helping her pull through. She said about the Snowfall actor, "I have to give kudos to him as a man for making me, as a woman feel comfortable literally being raw and naked."

The series which made its debut last Friday is the brainchild of multi-talented Hollywood star Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino. Swarm comes as a collaboration between Glover and Amazon Prime, and it is safe to say that the show is the next big thing for him.

Chloe, who is the older sister of The Litte Mermaid actress, Halle Bailey, plays Marissa, the sister of Dominique Fishback's Dre, an obsessed fan of a music star. Idris plays the role of Marissa's boyfriend, Khalid.

The plot of the series runs through with a story revolving around today's fan and stan cultures. According to Glover, the story takes on a Beyonce-inspired theme where she has an obsessive fan. To buttress this point, the show was formerly called Hive as an homage to Beyonce's fanbase, Beyhive. Dre's obsession with the music star saw her on a trajectory of obscene acts.

While Fishback plays the lead role, she is known for other movies and shows like The Hate U Give, Power Project, Modern Love, and The Deuce. Other Hollywood stars include media influencer and comedian Rickey Thompson, Scream actor Rory Culkin, Kiersey Clemons from Dope, Paris Jackson, and Bryon Bowers, among others.

Donald takes up directorial roles alongside Janine Nabers. The list of writers includes his brother and collaborator, Stephen Glover, Karen Joseph Adcock, and former president Obama's daughter, Malia Obama. Guava Island's Fam Udeorji, Steven Prinz from Paper Girls, Michael Schaefer, and Stephen Glover take up executive producer roles alongside Donald and Nabers.

It is safe to say that the show does feature quite a few firsts, as Grammy-winning singer Billie Eilish makes her acting debut. Eilish will appear in the latter part of the show as a creepy cult leader who encounters Dre in a tense and chilling atmosphere.

It's been three months into 2023, but it is safe to say that Chloe has been through some drama already. Last month she became the topic of discussion on social media when she announced her collaboration with R&B icon Chris Brown.

The announcement was met with negative remarks from fans who taught she could do better due to Brown's past domestic violence issues. However, Chloe appeared unbothered as she kept promoting the new song.