“It was more like, when something happened I felt uncomfortable with, I would then make time to go in and talk to the people I felt uncomfortable with and say, 'Can I talk to you about something?
This makes me feel uncomfortable',” Fishel shared.
Backlash from Production
However, her efforts to set clear limits were met with harsh reactions from some production personnel.
“And the response was, 'Well, she's gone crazy! Have you seen what's going on with her?
She's gone crazy.
She's got rules and boundaries about the way we're allowed to talk to her and to touch her and to interact with her.
It's shocking!'” Fishel recalled.
One major boundary Fishel decided to institute involved physical contact and constant hugging among cast and crew during long filming days.
“Why am I hugging so many people all the time?” Fishel recalled asking herself.
She questioned whether workplace customs like mandatory physical greetings were natural or simply ingrained habits.
“I come from a very huggy family. My family's from Malta, which is, you know, close to Italy, we're hugging people,” Fishel said.
“I remember thinking, 'Well, I hug all my family, I hug my friends. Now I just hug people at work and that's just who I am.'
It still happens.
You see people, and people go to give you a hug, and they go, 'I'm a hugger,' and you're not even really asking, like, 'Well, what if that person is not a hugger?'”
The mandatory interaction felt particularly unnecessary given the demanding production schedule on set.
