The actress said it wasn't until she showed people the infection that they realized the severity of it. The Boys star had a raging staph infection while filming season 2 sex scene: 'It got really bad' The actress said it wasn't until she showed people the infection that they realized the severity of it. By Emlyn Travis :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/EmlynTravisauthorphotocba6765b433b4f93b9398d18053153b1.jpg) Emlyn Travis Emlyn Travis is a news writer at . She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

The actress said it wasn't until she showed people the infection that they realized the severity of it.

The Boys star had a raging staph infection while filming season 2 sex scene: 'It got really bad'

The actress said it wasn't until she showed people the infection that they realized the severity of it.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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July 2, 2026 12:00 p.m. ET

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Erin Moriarty on 'The Boys'. Credit:

- Erin Moriarty says she filmed a sex scene for *The Boys* while dealing with a "really bad" staph infection.

- The actress said that it wasn't until she showed people the infection that they realized its severity.

- "I was like, ‘Guys, I have a second head growing out of my armpit.'"

Erin Moriarty is looking back at filming a sex scene for *The Boys* while navigating an uncomfortable skin condition.

During a recent visit to the *MesSy* podcast, the actress revealed that she shot her character Starlight's first intimate scene with Hughie (Jack Quaid) for the Prime Video superhero series while also dealing with a "really bad" staph infection.

"You’re taught and conditioned, especially when you start really young as an actress, to say yes to everything and to swallow your needs," Moriarty explained. "I didn’t mind it. I liked it. My identifier prior to going through this autoimmune illness was that I would suffer for my art. I would transcend whatever physical ailments I was going through."

Erin Moriarty on May 19, 2026.

Matei Horvath/Getty

Which is what she did when it came time to film the pair's intimate scene in season 2.

"This is one of many examples where I was so run down that I developed a really, really, really bad staph infection," she said. "Because what I didn't know is that staph infections, anyone can develop them. Staph is on our skin at all times. But when you're really run down, they can happen. And it got really bad. Like, really really bad. And I couldn't move my right arm."

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After she told production about the infection, Moriarty, who was diagnosed with Graves' disease last year, said the "only amendment" that was made to the night shoot that evening was to film Starlight and Hughie’s first sex scene.

"And so I was like, 'Guys, I have a second head growing out of my armpit,'" she recalled. "'Even if you want us to go through with this, this is what it looks like.'"

In general, Moriarty said that she tries to "withhold how many times I complain because I know that when I do complain, people won't take it seriously," adding, "And the worst thing that you can go through is going through physical hell and have people not take it seriously."

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"I remember saying, 'I have the staph infection going on. You don't understand. It's really bad. I'm in total hell.' And then people would hear me, but no one was really listening," she continued. "And then I would show them the infection, and they would go, 'Oh my god. You need to go to the ER right now!' And I was like, but I told you. But they need to see it."

Still, Moriarty noted that she "made it through" the night shoot and completed the scene to prove that she was a team player — even if it meant navigating her own pain in the process.

"I suck it up for work. I show up. I do a good job. I can be in hell, and I can be afraid that maybe I won't wake up tomorrow because I've got a really invasive staph infection," she said. "I can't move my right arm, but I will show up, and I will do whatever I have to do to show that I'm a good sport and a good player."

Listen to Moriarty discuss the infection in the clip above.

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Published: July 2, 2026 at 08:57PM on Source: RED MAG

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