Sophie Ellis-Bextor WatchedSaltburn's NSFW Scene with Her Mom and Teenage Son: 'We All Survived'

Mar. 15, 2025

Sophie Ellis-Bextor in Los Angeles in November 2023.Photo:Frazer Harrison/Gett

Frazer Harrison/Gett

The British pop star, 44,opened up toNMEabout seeing Emerald Fennell’s buzzy new film with her mom and teenage son, joking that they all made it through intact (Her 2001 hit is featured in a viral scene that, spoiler alert!, features star Barry Keoghan dancing around nude in his newly inherited Saltburn estate).

“Luckily we all survived and we all loved it,” she said. “I wasn’t too worried about my mum! We don’t have a penchant for watching particularly challenging films together, but it was more about the fact that my teenage son was sat in between his mum and his grandma. I just kept thinking, ‘I hope he’s OK!’”

She continued: “There were definitely a few moments where I had my head in my hands thinking, ‘This is quite a lot!’ But he was completely fine and dealt with it very calmly. He said it was one of the top 10 films he’d ever seen, so he was very happy!”

Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan at the Los Angeles premiere of Saltburn in November 2023.Frazer Harrison/Getty

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Ellis-Bextor added that her dad has yet to catch the movie, but has seen the pivotal scene that features his daughter’s hit.

The star previouslytalked to PEOPLE in Decemberabout the song’s resurgence, saying she still “wasn’t quite prepared for the visual” of the scene despite knowing it was coming (“Murder on the Dancefloor” earned its most-ever global Spotify streams in a single day on New Year’s Eve).

“Seeing it written down as a premise it’s different,” she said. “I mean, Barry really went for it. And it’s like, the whole song!”

“Whenever your music’s used, you get a little synopsis,” she explained. “So I saw Emerald’s name connected to the project and I already was familiar with her and how talented she is. I’ve seen Promising Young Woman and really enjoyed it. This little synopsis described how the character would be dancing, but I didn’t have any context. I’ve got quite a quirky sense of humor anyway, so I was like, I think I have to see how this plays out.”

“I didn’t really know exactly how it would play in terms of the role it was in the movie until I saw it at the screening, but I absolutely loved it,” she added. “I think it’s such a clever, funny, smart film. I really enjoyed it.”

As for meeting Irish actor Keoghan, 31, after watching him dance nude to her song, Ellis-Bextor said the two “just had a giggle.”

“I mean, he’s never going to be able to hear that in the same way again,” she added, laughing. “And every time he’s out and that comes on, people are going to think he’s going to strip off!”

Fennell, meanwhile,told PEOPLE in Novemberthat she felt strongly that Keoghan’s nude dance scene was “earned.”

“When it comes to nudity, I’m very, very thoughtful — I hope,” the Oscar-winning filmmaker said. “It’s very important to me that it doesn’t feel gratuitous, that it is always earned.”

That goes for nudity in any film, she added. “Whether it’s people having breakfast or whether it’s a nude dance, why is it in the movie? What is it telling us? What response does it give us?”

source: people.com