Actor and filmmaker Emerald Fennell has expressed regret over cutting a scene from her adaptation of Wuthering Heights that would have shown Margot Robbie with unshaven armpits. Speaking at the Hay Festival in Wales, Fennell explained that the scene would have added historical authenticity to the period drama, as reported by People.
Fennell directed the film, which was released in theaters in February 2026 and is based on Emily Bronte's classic novel. She had intentionally wanted Robbie's character, Cathy, to appear with visible body hair, noting that women in the era depicted would not have had access to modern grooming practices.
The director recalled being frequently distracted by the unrealistic appearance of women in period dramas. "Where are the razors that these women are using?" she said while discussing adaptations of Jane Austen novels. "They're all kind of hairless like eels. I'm like: 'What's going on? It's completely mad.'"
According to the outlet, English women only began commonly using safety razors for body hair removal in the early 1900s, long after Bronte's novel was first published in 1847. For that reason, Fennell said it was "so important" for her to depict Cathy's body hair accurately. "Unfortunately, the scene that we see them didn't make it in there," she added.
Fennell's adaptation of Wuthering Heights has sparked debate over several creative liberties, including Cathy's elaborate costumes, the casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, and significant changes to the original storyline. However, the filmmaker previously defended her interpretation, saying it was inspired more by her teenage memories of reading the novel than by strict literary accuracy.
"So it is Wuthering Heights, but it isn't," Fennell said in an earlier interview with Fandango published in January. "The thing for me is you can't adapt a book as dense and complicated and difficult as this book. What I can say is I'm making a version of it," according to People. Wuthering Heights is currently streaming on HBO Max.
