More than 12 million people have watched the viral video “Undress Me,” a social experiment where 20 strangers were paired up, asked to strip down to their underwear and get into bed with each other.
It’s the second short film from director Tatia Pilieva, who did this one in partnership with Showtime to promote the second season of “Masters of Sex.” (Her previous video, “First Kiss,” has more than 85 million views on YouTube.)
Most of the people featured in “Undress Me” were actors or models, or acquaintances of the director, which made them open to participating in a social experiment where they take off a stranger’s clothes.
But even though they trusted her vision, there were still some day-of jitters, as participants weren’t allowed to see each other before they entered the set, where 20 to 30 crew members were watching silently — with no rules for what happens next.
The Post talked with four of the brave participants about why they wanted to undress a stranger, what happened underneath the sheets and what their parents thought of the sexy video.
Krista Figacz had studied art before, so she was drawn to the social experiment aspect and the comparison to the sexual experiments of the 1950s portrayed in “Masters of Sex.”
“For me it’s all about the comments section in that video,” she says. “We’ve come nowhere with our perceptions of sexuality and intimacy . . . in this country. So [I was interested in] opening up that dialogue again and seeing the people chiming in and their reactions to it.”
“As I was sitting there waiting, suddenly I was just like, ‘Why didn’t I bring a flask?!’ I was expecting some kind of direction or explanation, and I didn’t realize the cameras were already rolling, so I was so in shock. It hadn’t dawned on me that also we’d be speaking. So I was just undressing him as quickly as I could.”
“I pulled the covers over us and we were talking under the covers and, I mean, I think it’s a natural reaction to start to kiss someone when you’re getting undressed and getting into bed. We were just kind of cuddling and whispering and giggling.”
Zumbi Lewis, a skateboard instructor who got recruited by his friend who works at a casting company, wasn’t rattled by the thought of undressing a stranger and just lying in bed. But to his surprise, he found himself getting intimate and making out with his partner, Joy.
“If you’ve seen the video, you see we had some pretty good chemistry,” he says. “I honestly was not expecting that at all. I thought I was going to go right into that room, undress another girl, they were gonna call cut, and that was going to be it. I guess the experiment proved different.”
Actor Josh Zwick found the project on a casting website, and having seen the “First Kiss” video, thought the concept was interesting. But after having a more awkward encounter with his partner, Alexa, he was amazed to see other couples making out in the finished video.
“The whole interaction was five minutes. There was awkward laughing as we undressed each other. We got on the bed and we were quiet for probably an uncomfortable amount of time. Then we started chatting a bit.”
“It was awkward, but in the most endearing way. We were all aware of this [being] not a normal situation. I look back on the experience fondly, it wasn’t traumatic or anything.”
“When my parents saw it, they grilled me about how I felt and why I didn’t make out with Alexa. That wasn’t what was true in the moment. I got a lot of texts from friends with a picture of me and Alexa on the bed like, ‘What happened here, Josh?’ I caught some flack.”
Model Dillon Duchesne was introduced to Pilieva through her agent and was also fan of her previous work.
“I loved the whole concept, it’s cute, it makes you feel good, it makes people smile,” she says. “It’s going to be a little awkward and weird, but I was down for it, I wanted to do something like that. I was feeling adventurous that night, apparently.
“I was so nervous. Me and my partner, we got along pretty well, so it ended up being OK. I asked stupid things like what’s your favorite animal and your favorite color. He made me feel very comfortable. We ended up kissing in the end, which was funny, but I just went with the flow.
“It was one of those things I would never [normally] do right when meeting someone; I got out of my comfort zone. I knew she would make it very beautiful and not weird or creepy in any way.”
“My dad of course was like, ‘I’m only gonna see it once, and never show me that video ever again.’ My mom loves it, she was like, ‘He is so cute! You got the cute guy!’ ”