Bridgerton star claims she developed a skin condition after shooting X-rated bathtub sex scene for 7 hours

Bridgerton season 4 star Yerin Ha has revealed she has suffered an uncomfortable skin condition after filming a sex scene with her onscreen partner, Luke Thompson, who plays Benedict Bridgerton on the Regency romper.

Netflix's hit show has returned for part 2 of season 4 following the first half released on the streamer at the end of January. The second half of the season of the Shondaland show continues exploring the forbidden romance between Sophie Baek (Ha), a maid of noble origins, and the second Bridgerton son, volatile, creative Benedict.

After the first half saw Benedict falling for a masked lady at a ball — who was actually Sophie in disguise — the second volume of the season delves into a more concrete romance between him and Sophie, with Benedict blissfully unaware the two women are the same person.

Benedict spends the better part of the first half of the season looking for a woman who was just under his nose. (Netflix)

Bridgerton is known for its steamy sex scenes, and season 4 is no exception. The Benedict-focused season features a sexy staircase makeout session in its first half, while part 2 includes an intimate sequence in a bathtub. It's when filming the bath scene that Ha developed folliculitis courtesy of a mix of bath water and baby powder, which she applied so she could have on her 'intimacy wear'.

"There’s a scene where we are in a bathtub and basically I put baby powder all on me because I was told it would help dry my skin to put the intimacy wear on with my tape," she explained during an appearance on Capital Breakfast. "And then basically the next day after the bathtub, I got hives all over my body and got folliculitis and needed steroid cream!"

According to Mayo Clinic, folliculitis is a common skin condition that happens when hair follicles become inflamed because of a bacterial infection. A particular type of folliculitis associated with warm, contaminated water is known as bath tub rash, also known as Pseudomonas folliculitis.

"But I blame myself," Ha admitted, "because I think it was a combination of baby powder and the bath water."

The bathtub scene gave Ha a skin condition after he and Thompson were submerged for several hours. (Netflix)

For his part, Thompson noted that the pair were submerged in the bathtub for six or seven hours while filming the scene, hinting at the length of the scene playing a part in Ha's condition.

“But you were fine!” Ha said with a laugh. “So it’s me. I’m a sensitive gal.”

This isn't the first hiccup Ha and Thompson experienced when filming Bridgerton season 4 as the pair had to reschedule their big stairwell scene because Ha was sick with the flu.

"That scene was supposed to be shot a while back, but then I got the flu, so we had to reschedule it," she told People.

"But you know what? It's funny, because those Bridgerton steamy, sex scenes — or whatever you want to call them — they don't feel like they're there just for the sake of it," she continued. "They're actually an extension of the storytelling, and it is quite poetic and they're there for an actual purpose. I do think Bridgerton does the sex scene so well ... from a female gaze."

Bridgerton season 4 is streaming on Netflix.

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