I got to see a preview version of “God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty “ in Miami last week, about 5 days before it dropped on Hulu (it’s there right now! Go watch!). Afterwards, I shared some thoughts on Twitter. This post is an adaptation of and expansion on those thoughts.

Content Warning: Religion, Religious figures, January 6, 2020, Abortion, Sex

Note the reader: I was the Intimacy Coordinator for the recreation scenes in “God Forbid”. I am biased towards this film, this creative team, and these actors because of my personal involvement.

To be clear, as so often happens in the entertainment industry, especially in film, I signed onto the project before I knew what it was. When I talk to Intimacy Coordinators in training, I say “this work is your job, not therapy. It is not to work through your trauma.” So, I didn’t sign onto “God Forbid” to get healing. I was just working and paying my bills. We talked about schedule and rate, and I signed an NDA. Only then did I get a copy of production info.

This was 1, maybe 2, days before meeting the director and actors. I started reading and thought, “gosh, these names seem familiar….” and then it clicked. I screamed. I cackled. I was very, very, excited to get to work.

I expected making the content to feel like sweet revenge. For 30 years of trauma and 10 more of gaslighting and struggle.

What I didn’t expect was that watching it on screen would feel like sweet release. But for me, seeing “God Forbid” healed a part of my heart that was so angry and hurt. I was validated in knowing other's see the hypocrisy. Others feel the pain and know the anger. I stopped feeling gaslit by the stories around Christianity and America. The healing was a bonus to the work.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I’m not here to kink-shame the Falwells. it’s the hypocrisy that is the problem.

This film is powerful. I knew the history of the Evangelical movement to the Christian Nationalist Movement. From the 1978 decision by Evangelical leaders to make abortion “the” issue, to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2020, these things are linked and bound by a particular brand of American Christian thought and behavior.

If you don’t know this history, I recommend Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s book Jesus and John Wayne and Dr. Anthea Butler’s book White Evangelical Racism. In fact, Dr. Butler was interviewed and appears in the documentary. It is my only regret on this project that I did not get to meet her! I so appreciate that Billy and Alfred brought her brilliance to the work, showcasing the work of Black women in both academia and religion.

Continuing the gratitude, the whole creative team was fabulous. Billy is an incredible, clear, and thoughtful director. The actors were confident and curious, and kind. The DP was brilliant and the costumes, hair, and makeup folks I worked closely with were beyond amazing.

If you have Hulu, you can stream “God Forbid” right now. If you are in Miami, you can catch it on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7pm ET at the Cosford Cinema on UM’s campus for free. See the link or the Events page to register for tickets.

However you see it, hop back here or over to my Twitter thread and leave comment on your thoughts!