Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaption hit the 2026 movie schedule earlier this year, and the film still remains a major topic of conversation. Critics had a mixture of thoughts on the Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi-led film, but something many agreed on was the notion of it delivering steamy scenes. Director Emerald Fennell also tried to create a movie that was period appropriate, which meant Margot Robbie grew out hairy armpits for the movie.
Unfortunately, the audience never gets to see the effort, as a scene Fennell shot focusing in on Robbie's pits was ultimately left on the cutting room floor. Now, Fennell is opening up about that discarded content and sharing her regrets about not including it in the finished production.
While Wuthering Heights deviates from Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel in a few ways, it still retains the 19th century setting from the text. One of Fennell’s goals seemed to be to convey some of the similarities and differences between how women conduct themselves now and back in the 1800s. It seems personal grooming was part of that as well. Fennell recently spoke at the Hay Festival in Wales, where she discussed (via The Guardian) cutting material that would’ve highlighted a physical feature of Robbie’s Cathy:
[She had] extremely hairy armpits...[but] unfortunately the scene that we see them didn’t make it in there.
Many of Margot Robbie’s film roles have called on her to look absolutely pristine, from her sizzling turn as Naomi Lapaglia in The Wolf of Wall Street to her performance as the plastic-like Barbie. For some people, seeing Robbie with hair-laden underarms may have been a bit jarring, but I completely understand why it would be necessary. It goes without saying that plenty of women opt to go natural today. Still, the deleted scene would have put a fine point on the notion of women not feeling so precious about shaving during the 1880s.
Such a scene could’ve been not only refreshing but empowering to see, and that may be why Emerald Fennell feels strongly about wishing she would’ve included those hairy pits. During her discussion, Fennell also questioned the lack of hair on characters who’ve appeared in screen adaptations of other 18th century-set stories:
[It] was so important to me. Where are the razors that these women are using? They’re all kind of hairless like eels. I’m like: ‘What’s going on? It’s completely mad.'
More on Wuthering Heights
Margot Robbie Knows People Have Polarizing Opinions About Wuthering Heights. Her Take?
Based on comments she’s shared about the film, which she also wrote, Emerald Fennell put a lot of time and effort into making Wuthering Heights aesthetically pleasing. Much has been said about Cathy’s various fits as well as the impressive production design. Much has also been said about Robbie and Elordi’s performances as Cathy and Heathcliff, who fall in love and have their share of sensual moments throughout the flick. (Of course, those familiar with the book have also been letting newbies know that the two are “bad people.”)
Emerald Fennell’s movie is what it is, though and, with that in mind, I doubt we’ll see any kind of campaign for the release of a “hairy armpit cut.” Of course, what I’d like to know is exactly why that footage doesn’t appear in the movie at all, because Fennell didn’t provide a concrete reason for its exclusion. Regardless, it seems that’ll just be one piece of film moviegoers will just have to be without, barring any kind of change.
Check out Wuthering Heights – sans the hairy pits – by streaming it with an HBO Max subscription. Also, read up on the upcoming book-to-screen adaptations that are set to arrive in the near future.
