Hollywood thrives on spectacle, but even by those standards, Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey’s recent displays of platonic affection—lip kisses, sultry gazes, and even a staged neck-bite—have left audiences divided. Are the Jurassic World Rebirth co-stars simply rewriting the rules of friendship, or are they indulging in a publicity stunt that risks overshadowing their professional accomplishments?
The Case For Platonic PDA
On one side are the romantics. To them, Johansson and Bailey’s cheeky gestures are refreshing—two friends who are confident enough in themselves, and in their relationships, to show affection without shame.
Bailey, 37, has been admirably clear. “I believe in being able to show love in all different ways. And if you can’t kiss your friends… life’s too short not to,” he told Entertainment Tonight. It’s a philosophy that resonates in a cultural moment when the boundaries between platonic and romantic intimacy are being renegotiated.
Johansson, 40, is equally unbothered. Married to Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost since 2020, she has brushed off the fascination with a shrug: “He’s a lovable guy, what can I say? We’re just friendly people.” Jost himself appears amused rather than threatened, joking that in Jurassic Park terms, he hadn’t expected Jonathan Bailey to be the “raptor attack.” His dry wit undercuts any suggestion of jealousy.
Supporters see the affection as liberating—a rebuke to Hollywood’s rigid binaries. Why must every kiss be coded as sexual? Why can’t affection between a gay man and a straight woman exist without scandal? For many, Johansson and Bailey are modeling a modern, grown-up kind of intimacy: playful, warm, and inclusive.
The Case Against
Yet skeptics argue that these carefully staged kisses and photo ops blur lines that don’t need blurring. Hollywood has a long history of weaponizing intimacy for publicity—red carpet whispers, viral Instagram posts, staged “moments” designed to sell a narrative.
Is this different? Bailey and Johansson’s increasingly performative PDA—appearing at multiple premieres, coordinating poses for Instagram, even biting necks in photos shared by Bailey’s charity account—doesn’t happen by accident. Every image is choreographed, every upload approved. The question isn’t whether their friendship is real (few doubt it is), but whether the spectacle risks cheapening it.
And then there’s the optics. Johansson’s kisses may be playful, but her husband’s easy acceptance doesn’t automatically silence critics. Some fans bristle at the idea of intimacy between married stars and co-stars being normalized as mere “friendship.”
Others question whether such antics risk overshadowing their blockbuster franchise, turning Jurassic World Rebirth’s press cycle into a sideshow.
Even Johansson herself has acknowledged the fascination. Asked on the Today show about “this kissing thing,” she admitted, “Nothing surprises me, you know what I mean?” That, too, is telling: the actress knows the spectacle fuels attention, even if she pretends indifference.
The Cultural Moment
There’s a broader conversation here about intimacy in the public eye. In queer spaces especially, friendship and affection often defy traditional labels. A kiss between friends need not mean romance—it can be solidarity, celebration, or simply joy. Bailey, an openly gay leading man, is part of a generation challenging Hollywood’s assumptions about who gets to play whom, love whom, and kiss whom.
Johansson, meanwhile, has long walked the tightrope between movie-star mystique and disarming candor. Her willingness to blur the line between private and performative affection fits her persona: grounded enough to laugh at herself, but savvy enough to know the internet will run with the images.
Who’s Right?
So is this a good look? That depends on what you think friendship should look like in public. If you see Bailey and Johansson as redefining intimacy in a healthier, more expansive way, then their kisses are charming, even necessary. If you see them as orchestrated distractions—a PR-friendly intimacy that risks undermining their work—then it feels cheap, even cynical.
In truth, it may be both. Hollywood thrives on ambiguity, and Johansson and Bailey know exactly how to keep the cameras—and the internet—guessing.
The more pressing question might not be whether the PDA is a “good look,” but what it says about us that we still can’t quite tell the difference between friendship and romance when lips are involved.
So, readers: are Scarlett and Jonathan rewriting the rules in the best possible way—or simply indulging in the oldest publicity trick in Hollywood?
Rob Shuter is a celebrity journalist, talk-show host, former publicist, and author of The 4 Word Answer. He hosts Naughty But Nice with Rob, a top 20 iTunes podcast. Follow his latest columns at robshuter.substack.com.
Is this what we have to worry about these days?
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