‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Confession Alert: Dakota Johnson Spills Her Most Awkward Role Prep

Few talk-show formats punish evasive celebrities quite like ‘Hot Ones Versus‘. The rules are simple and brutal: answer an awkward question honestly, or swallow a punishingly spicy chicken wing. For stars promoting a new movie, it is often the fastest route to a viral moment.

This round pitted Dakota Johnson against her co-star Josh Hartnett, with Anne Hathaway serving as the referee. The contestants can either answer honestly or eat the wings, and whoever eats the most wings loses. The topics included how well they remember each other’s projects, their most embarrassing role preparation and their knowledge of classic thrillers.

It was during the embarrassing role preparation portion that Johnson delivered the confession everyone is now talking about. Asked whether she would eat one of the brutally hot wings or share an embarrassing bit of role prep, she chose honesty and revealed that she grew out her body hair for her part in the first ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ film. She explained the character, Anastasia Steele, was meant to have never waxed, and she flatly refused the wing, with the teaser’s caption including a more colorful version of her refusal.

The reveal landed because it contrasts with how the film’s intimate scenes were discussed back in 2015. At the time, Johnson reportedly said that waxing hurt more than the spanking scenes, and she said she went through more waxing than any woman should. That makes this new admission feel like a surprise twist on a decade-old anecdote.

Reports note that earlier accounts from the production don’t fully line up. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey has said Johnson wore a protective patch and that the grooming details were added in post-production. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson has described a grooming arc written to follow the book, so exactly how Johnson prepared remains a bit of a mystery.

Fans, naturally, had plenty to say. Many praised her unfiltered candor, with one calling her honesty hilarious, while others joked about the whole thing. Some shrugged it off, noting that the film’s digitally altered visuals were already widely discussed.

The teaser dropped on Oct. 5, a day after Johnson turned 37, and the full episode arrived on Oct. 6 on First We Feast’s YouTube channel. Hathaway, an Oscar winner, hosted, and the page for the episode teases whether Hartnett would eat a wing to avoid discussing his old looks. Hartnett, for his part, reportedly picked a hot wing instead of rating his old photos.

It was not Johnson’s first time in the hot seat. She sat down for a full ‘Hot Ones’ interview with Sean Evans in June 2025 while promoting ‘Materialists’, and at the end she said she would not return. The ‘Versus’ format proved to be a very different, very chaotic beast.

All of this is part of the press push for ‘Verity’, the psychological thriller that opened in U.S. theaters on Oct. 2. Michael Showalter directs from a screenplay by Nick Antosca, adapting Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. Amazon MGM Studios distributes it in the U.S. and Canada, while Sony Pictures Releasing International handles other markets.

Johnson plays Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who is hired to finish the bestselling book series her client Verity Crawford left unfinished after a mysterious accident. While working at the remote Crawford estate, she finds a manuscript that raises questions about Verity’s mental health and her connection to her published books. Hathaway plays Verity, and Hartnett plays her husband, Jeremy.

As Lowen investigates, she struggles to tell fact from fiction and attraction from obsession. The film’s trailer teased a dark, tense story, and the cast has leaned into the promotional chaos with gusto. The ‘Hot Ones Versus’ appearance fits that strategy neatly, mixing a spicy gimmick with a thriller that thrives on secrets.

Part of the fun is how quickly the format strips away polish. A star who looks calm on a red carpet suddenly has to choose between sweating through a punishing wing and spilling a story she’d rather keep private. Johnson’s choice, to talk rather than eat, was both funny and completely on brand for an actress known for deadpan candor.

It also gave ‘Verity’ exactly the kind of social media buzz a modern thriller wants. Whether you came for the wings, the confession or the movie, the clip has people talking about all three.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!