Rachel Bilson Says She Was Fired For This Sexual Joke That 'Didn't Sound Great'

Rachel Bilson is speaking out about losing a job for being a little too open about some of her bedroom preferences. 

The former star of The O.C. star said on Nicole Byer’s Why Won’t You Date Me? podcast last week that she was shocked to lose work after making raunchy comments while on a friend’s podcast two years ago. 

“Did I want to fight it? Absolutely,” Rachel said of the situation. “Look, I can see both sides. When you take something out of context and you read something as a standalone comment, it can come off a certain way ― sure.”

But the How I Met Your Mother actor said that she was just “joking around” when she made the comments. 

“I said something like, ‘I like to be manhandled’,” Rachel recalled, adding that her co-host said the same word.  

“But because I used that word in whatever context, they just took that out of the conversation. It didn’t sound great,” she admitted. “But I think it was a very conservative company so they weren’t comfortable talking about sex at all, in general.”

Rachel first spoke about losing the gig back in 2023, when she said she voiced “I wanna get fucking manhandled” in a “joking manner” where it’s OK to “give control or take control in the bedroom”. 

She also went into detail about what sex positions she preferred, and why. But even at the time, the actor stood by her comments. 

“I haven’t said anything inappropriate,” she insisted. “Maybe I would say it differently. But I still wouldn’t not say it.”