Emerald Fennell, the director of Crossroads, says that a realistic scene was shot for the era, emphasizing the lack of razors, but that it was not included in the final version of the film, The Guardian reports.
Emerald Fennell said at the Hay festival in Wales on Friday night that it was “regrettable” that a scene showing famous actress Margot Robbie's hairy armpits, who plays Cathy, was not included in the final cut, as women in period films are often shown with shaved armpits.
Robbie's character Cathy had “extremely hairy armpits” in the 2026 adaptation of the novel, but “unfortunately, the scene where we see them was not included,” the director said.
That Cathy had unshaved armpits “was so important to me,” she said, adding that she often wonders “where are the razors these women use?” when watching Jane Austen adaptations.
“They're all kind of hairless. I'm like, 'What's going on? This is totally crazy,'” the director said.
The steamy adaptation of Emily Brontë's gothic novel, starring Robbie and Jacob Elordi, was released on Valentine's Day this year.
Fennell described the film as “a sister, not a twin” to the book, saying he “couldn't do” the original. “She's so brilliant,” she added.
Behind the scenes of the film
Asked about the famous “skin room” — the specially customized bedroom Cathy was given by her husband, Edgar Linton, with walls that resemble her skin — Fennell joked that in marketing sessions, the team considered asking Farrow & Ball to create a skin-themed color of Cathy's.
They also asked Robbie to send in close-up pictures of the underside of his wrist to replicate the veins on the walls. Fennell also talked about the much-discussed “fish scene,” in which Cathy sticks her finger in the mouth of a dead fish.
“We had all kinds of fish, we had lipstick fish, we had real fish, fake fish, in the end that was a real fish. But poor Margot. I mean, she had to do that. There were 12 of them,” she said.
