The reasons behind the breakup of Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, once Hollywood's hottest brother-director duo, have been revealed belatedly. At the center of it is an allegation that during the 2017 filming of the movie "Good Time" there was controversy over sexual scenes involving a minor.
On the 26th (local time), Page Six Hollywood reported that the discord between the Safdie brothers stemmed not from simple differences in political views or the aftermath of the strike, but from a serious incident that occurred on the set of "Good Time."
According to the report, the production cast a 17-year-old minor actress in the role of a sex worker, and the actress was placed in scenes on the New York set that involved nudity and actions suggestive of sexual activity. The disputed scenes were filmed with nonprofessional actor Buddy Duress, and testimony emerged that although Duress actually exposed himself and made inappropriate remarks during filming, the shoot was not stopped.
People on the set said the director should have stopped filming immediately, but Josh proceeded with it. The scene was ultimately removed from the final cut, but the production has described it as a "creative decision."
The controversy lay under the surface for years, but resurfaced in 2022 when Sebastian Bear-McClard, the Safdie brothers' former producing partner, brought renewed attention to past issues during divorce proceedings. It is said that in that process Benny Safdie belatedly recognized the actress's minor status, and that this created a decisive rift between the brothers.
The two officially split in 2023, and the Netflix project they were developing together was also shelved. Since then, Josh drew attention this year with multiple Academy Award nominations for "A24's Marti Supreme" starring Timothy Chalamet, while Benny's "The Smashing Machine" received relatively muted reactions.
A representative of a child actor rights organization said the production methods that ignored the safety and ethics of minors and were later packaged as Oscar contenders are worrisome, and noted that the logic of "anything is possible for art" must not be accepted in 2026 either.
Once dubbed "the most dangerous and innovative brothers in Hollywood," the Safdie duo now have a dark shadow behind their fame that is finally emerging into the open.
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