Zendaya calls out a double standard over her kissing scenes on screen

Zendaya has called out a double standard over her kissing scenes on screen.

The 27-year-old actress appears in new romance movie Challengers as a tennis coach caught in a love triangle with two athletes played by Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, and she insisted it’s “odd” how much attention to paid to her intimate on camera moments.

Appearing on Jake’s Takes, she told host Jake Hamilton: “I know, it’s very odd.”

Asked if other people simply forget it’s sometimes simply just part of her job to kiss other actors or if it’s a way to get her to discuss certain topics, she suggested other performers don’t get grilled in the same way.

She added: “I have no idea. I don’t know if it’s because they want it to be, like, a viral thing, I don’t know.

“But I have noticed that, with me specifically. I feel like other actors don’t… if it was somebody else here, you probably wouldn’t [have] asked that question.

“But yeah, it is a part of my job and it is a completely normal part of the job despite, I think, maybe other people’s perception of our job. But yeah, it is odd.”

Zendaya — who is in a relationship with fellow Hollywood star Tom Holland — admitted it is something that has been playing on her mind as she promotes the new movie.

She said: “Thank you for bringing that up, because I thought the same thing. I’m like, this is weird! This is weird!”

The Dune actress was asked about the steamy scenes at the Challengers premiere in Rome earlier this month, and she opened up about the importance of taking care of the actors on set.

She said: “We had an intimacy coordinator which was fantastic and very helpful, because it was important that we felt safe.”

And she made sure to “bond” with her co-stars Mike and Josh, so that they were all “at ease” with each other on set.

She explained: “I spoke with my colleagues so that we could find a way to feel at ease. We played tennis together, we went out together, we rehearsed together. We got to bond and feel good with each other.”