Emily Osment asked for an intimacy coordinator after she felt uncomfortable filming kissing scenes with Montana Jordan on Young Sheldon. The request changed how later scenes were handled, with production bringing in support after the first set of kisses was already underway.
Jordan was 18 at the time and six weeks from turning 19 when the scenes were filmed in 2022. Osment said, "That made me uncomfortable. He was a baby! A baby with a mullet" — a blunt line that captures how quickly a routine scene turned into a production issue.
Tim Marx and the first scenes
Osment spoke to Tim Marx about the lack of an intimacy coordinator, but production was not able to get one that late in the day for the first scenes. For the next few episodes, though, the team added an intimacy coordinator as the relationship between the characters escalated. Osment said, "It made everything easier having one there. I think it's something that's really important".
That shift mattered because it changed the on-set process from improvising around discomfort to giving both actors a clearer support structure. Osment said she wanted Jordan to have the option to ask for that help too: "I don't know if Montana even knew if he could ask for that. Like, let's give him the option, too. Make him comfortable".
Alex Reid and the drop ball
Director Alex Reid said the production team initially believed an intimacy coordinator was unnecessary for the first kissing scenes, then admitted, "We totally dropped the ball". Steve Molaro said Osment had "every right to ask" for an intimacy coordinator, while Connor Kilpatrick said the team incorrectly assumed extra support was unnecessary.
Kilpatrick also said a coordinator was present for a later scene after Osment requested one, which is the practical takeaway here: once the concern was raised, the production adjusted for later episodes rather than leaving the first discomfort as the standard. Osment said, "And he's such a sweet kid; I think he would just eat his discomfort. But I love those guys, and I'm really happy it got to the point where they were able to do that [for us]".
Mandy's pregnancy and the rib
Osment also described wearing a 12.5-pound silicone prosthetic belly while portraying Mandy's pregnancy, sometimes for up to 12 hours so it would not have to be removed and reattached during breaks. She said, "I actually cracked a rib while wearing it for so long and went to the hospital because I was having such horrible pain in my side".
That hospital visit added another layer to the workload around the role, and medical staff asked her about recent changes in her life before she explained she was portraying a pregnant character at work while wearing a heavy prop. For readers, the bigger lesson is simple: the show ended up adjusting its support around intimacy scenes only after Osment pushed for it, and the same production also asked her body to carry a 12.5-pound costume piece for hours at a time.
