Director Now Regrets Axing Margot Robbie’s Hairy Armpits Scene From Wuthering Heights
Emerald Fennell says she now regrets cutting a cheeky Wuthering Heights moment featuring Margot Robbie’s hairy armpits — a playful beat left on the floor of the romantic hit that also stars Jacob Elordi.
Here’s a bit of behind-the-scenes drama from the world of literary adaptations – and, yes, it’s a wonderfully odd one. Emerald Fennell, in the thick of promoting her blockbuster take on Wuthering Heights, says she now regrets chopping a scene featuring Margot Robbie’s, well… extremely hairy armpits. No, that’s not a tabloid summary – apparently, it was actually shot, and there was a point to it.
Period Accuracy, Shaved Down
Margot Robbie stars as the tempestuous Cathy Earnshaw in Fennell’s moody, R-rated spin on Emily Brontë’s 1847 classic. And in the name of period realism (soap and razors not being exactly household items out on the moors), Fennell originally filmed a scene highlighting Cathy’s very un-21st-century grooming. As Fennell put it in an interview with The Guardian:
"Unfortunately the scene that we see them didn’t make it in there … it was so important to me"
Quite why it disappeared from the final cut hasn’t been spelled out, but the director insists it was all about giving Cathy genuine character detail. Can’t say you get that in many Hollywood period romances.
Method Acting & Dead Fish
If the armpit business wasn’t enough, there’s another delightfully unpleasant moment that did survive the edit: Robbie, as Cathy, sticking her finger inside a real, dead fish. This bit, if you were wondering, wasn’t mocked up by the props department.
"We had all of the different fish, we had fish with lipstick on, 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."
Full marks to Robbie for braving it. Sounds like quite the day at the office.
Cast, Cash, and Critical Shrugs
- Margot Robbie headlines as Cathy Earnshaw
- Jacob Elordi also stars (the article didn’t bother mentioning who he played, so your guess is as good as mine)
- Budget: $80 million
- Worldwide Box Office: Nearly $242 million (per The Numbers – a sizeable hit)
- Streaming Debut: HBO Max, 3 May 2026 (R-rated, went straight to No.1 in the US)
- Critics’ Response: Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer a middling 57%
- Audience Score: A much stronger 75% Popcornmeter
So, the film’s clearly resonated more with viewers than critics. The armpits may be gone, but the box office is absolutely not up in flames.