Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode 'Joan Is Awful'.
Salma Hayek feared she would get in trouble after one particular scene in Black Mirror.
The actor stars as TV Joan in the first episode of season six, which arrived on Netflix on Thursday (15 June).
The episode follows a tech CEO who discovers that the vents of her life are being retold almost in real time by streaming app, Streamberry, which has produced a show titled Joan in Awful starring Salma Hayek.
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Speaking to Good Morning America to promote the series, Hayek said she was ‘shocked’ when she read the script and explained why.
“There was one thing that really did make me hesitate about doing it altogether. Yeah, it’s insane but I love that Black Mirror is not known for super funny and so I like breaking the moulds,” she said.
When pressed to reveal the ‘one thing’ that was truly shocking, the 56-year-old teased: “You’ll have to see the episode, you’ll know immediately what I was talking about.”
As fans who have watched the first episode are likely aware, the episode features a shocking scene in which Hayek’s character is forced to defecate on the floor in a church.
The Magic Mike’s Last Dance star recalled the moment she received the script which had a ‘terrifying version’ of herself written in it.
Hayek said: “It was so bizarre but then again it’s Black Mirror so why expect anything other than bizarre. I was shocked when I read the script. I was shocked that my name was in it. I was not shocked and it was not difficult at all because its’ kind of like an opportunity to make fun of yourself and it’s kind of like a parody of me and they were kind of afraid I wasn’t going to do something but then I wanted to take it even further. I have a very good sense of humour about myself.”
She said there’s a lot the ‘real Salma’ which inspired the character seen in Black Mirror.
In another interview, Hayek said she was afraid the ‘disgusting’ and ‘grotesque’ would be criticised by viewers.
"There are so many moments that shocked me in the script. There is one huge one that I had to come to terms with, and made me ask myself, ‘Do I really want to do this? Am I going to get in trouble?’" Hayek shared during a cover story interview for Radio Times.
"It’s as if I created an alter ego where I could do the most disgusting, grotesque things that you would never do in real life… and have permission to do that."
Black Mirror season six is streaming now.
Topics: Black Mirror, TV and Film, Netflix
Gregory Robinson