Minnie Driver is opening up about how she was allegedly treated on the set of her 1998 film Hard Rain.
In a recent interview on Jameela Jamil’s I Weigh podcast, the actress said that the film's producers denied her request to wear a wet suit while shooting a scene under "20 million gallons of water" because "they wanted to see my nipples."
“It’s set during this massive storm, there were huge rain machines. We shot crazy hours. It was tough,” Driver said. “Everybody else could wear a wetsuit underneath their costume, and I was told by the producers that I couldn’t because they wanted to see my nipples, and that there was no point in having the wet t-shirt if you couldn’t have what was underneath it.”
Driver went on to say that she voiced her disagreement with the producer's decision, but ultimately was made to feel like “an idiot” and that she didn’t “understand that this is what’s going on.”
Driver did not name one or any of the producers by name.
“I remember saying this is wrong. I remember calling my agent,” Driver continued. “I then remember it being like, boy, people wouldn’t speak to me on the set. I was so punished for it."
According to Driver, the interaction "was leaked to the press," including the claim that she had "called and complained about conditions but it was as if there was nothing to complain about and I was just complaining."
"It’s this gaslighting," she added. "Media gaslighting that’s supported by the environment that you’re in. So you turn on yourself, like, ‘It’s my fault for saying anything you stupid big mouth. You should’ve shut up.'”
Kathleen Detoro, the film's costume designer, told Variety via email that “full wetsuits and pieces” were “supplied to all cast and crew,” including “tops, bottoms and booties” and “no expense was spared to keep actors and crew as dry as possible in an action water film.”
“Producers never gave me those instructions,” Detoro continued in the same email to the publication. “Actors don’t like wearing wetsuits under their clothes. Very uncomfortable. Made-to-order wet suits from Body Glove were purchased for all actors and crew. Actors received full wet suit: shortie wet suit, tops, bottoms and booties. It is up to actor to decide what parts they wear or don’t wear.”
The 1998 film also starred Morgan Freeman, who responded to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment regarding Driver's allegations, saying he "has no recollection of any part of this."
This is not the first time Driver has discussed sexism in the entertainment industry. In a 2022 interview with The Telegraph, the actress said she almost didn't secure the role in Good Will Hunting that earned her an Oscar nomination because the producer, Harvey Weinstein, thought “nobody would want to f*** her.”
“I remember feeling so devastated until I realized: ‘Hold on, just consider the source for a minute. That is an unutterable pig—why on earth are you worried about this fuck saying that you are not sexy?’” Driver said at the time. “But there are ramifications of that: That maybe I am not going to be hired because people don’t think I have the sexual quality that is required.”
