Safdie Brothers Split Exposed By Shocking On Set Scandal

For years, the creative partnership of brothers Josh and Benny Safdie was one of Hollywood’s most celebrated—and enigmatic—success stories. Together, they made a name for themselves as the auteurs behind gritty, nerve-wracking films like Good Time and Uncut Gems, redefining the boundaries of indie cinema. But in 2023, their collaboration came to an abrupt and very public end, leaving fans, critics, and industry insiders speculating wildly about what could have torn apart one of the industry’s hottest duos.

The answer, as revealed by a pair of bombshell reports from Page Six Hollywood and other outlets, is far darker—and more complicated—than most imagined. The rift, it turns out, can be traced back to a disturbing incident on the set of the brothers’ 2017 breakout film, Good Time. According to multiple sources cited by Page Six Hollywood, the seeds of discord were sown when a 17-year-old actress was cast to play a prostitute in a scene involving nudity and simulated sex with non-actor Buddy Duress, a recent prison releasee with a checkered past that included drug and weapons charges.

During filming in New York, with Josh Safdie monitoring the action on a screen and Benny handling the boom mic, things took a shocking turn. Duress, reportedly high at the time, exposed himself and made a crude sexual proposition to the teenage actress as cameras continued to roll. “Any director who had seen that should have yelled ‘Cut!’ and stopped the scene, but Josh let it continue,” an on-set source told Page Six Hollywood. The incident, which violated Screen Actors Guild rules meant to protect minors from harmful or exploitative work conditions, left the young actress traumatized. Josh, sources say, became aware of her age only after the scene had been shot, as the fallout from the ordeal became painfully clear.

The controversial footage never saw the light of day. The Safdies removed the scene before Good Time premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, officially citing “creative reasons.” But the damage, it seems, had already been done. For years, the incident remained buried—until 2022, when it resurfaced in the midst of a bitter divorce battle between the Safdies’ former producing partner, Sebastian “Sebo” Bear-McClard, and actress Emily Ratajkowski. As details from the Good Time set began to emerge in court filings and industry gossip, Benny Safdie learned the full extent of what had happened. According to sources, the revelation created a “wedge” between the brothers that would only grow with time.

Josh, for his part, pointed the finger at Bear-McClard, blaming him for hiring the underage actress. Bear-McClard, however, pushed back, insisting he wasn’t responsible for vetting her age and noting that he wasn’t even present during the incident with Duress. The brothers soon cut ties with Bear-McClard and began the process of dissolving their shared production company. But the fallout from the Good Time incident continued to haunt their working relationship.

Despite mounting tensions, the Safdies soldiered on for another nine months, even entering pre-production on a high-profile Netflix project that would have reunited them with Uncut Gems star Adam Sandler and co-starred Ben Affleck. But in March 2023, after a Variety article detailed the “Good Time” controversy and its connection to Bear-McClard’s divorce, Benny decided he’d had enough. He abruptly ended his creative partnership with Josh, and the Netflix project was scrapped.

From there, the brothers’ paths diverged sharply. Josh Safdie quickly rebounded, directing Marty Supreme with Timothée Chalamet—a film that would go on to receive nine Oscar nominations, including a coveted Best Director nod for Josh. Benny, meanwhile, threw himself into The Smashing Machine with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which earned just one minor Oscar nomination. The sibling rivalry, once the stuff of industry legend, had now spilled over into awards season, with Josh emerging as the clear favorite.

But the story doesn’t end with professional triumphs and disappointments. The Safdies’ split has left a lasting mark on both their personal and professional lives. Despite Benny’s claims in a recent interview with Empire that their careers always included solo work—“We started making movies separately in college,” he said, adding, “Then we’d converge on something together, and when that ended, it was just natural to chase our individual interests”—the brothers are no longer on speaking terms. According to Page Six Hollywood, they recently attended the same wedding but sat at separate tables, a silent testament to the depth of their estrangement.

The controversy has also reignited debate about the Safdies’ working methods, particularly Josh’s penchant for pushing boundaries on set. The brothers were known for their verité style, often casting non-actors and shooting in unpredictable, sometimes chaotic environments. But some former colleagues argue that their pursuit of authenticity came at too high a cost. On the set of a Jay-Z music video in Brooklyn in 2017, for example, the Safdies reportedly kept a child actor working past 1 a.m., well beyond the legal limit for minors. “Josh’s lack of regard for the child, who cried and asked to go home because he was tired, was horrifying,” one on-set source recalled.

Anne Henry, co-founder of BizParentz, an advocacy group for child actors, didn’t mince words about the industry’s willingness to overlook troubling on-set behavior. “It is troubling that just a few years later Josh Safdie is being honored as a director,” she told Page Six Hollywood. “Maybe it is my perspective as a child advocate, but I don’t consider a director who hires non-union kids off Instagram, skirts safety protections for minors, has a girl do a surprise nude scene, to be stellar. I would have hoped Oscar-nominated directors would be judged for their methods and professionalism as well. This is 2026. We shouldn’t be in a ‘create entertainment at all costs’ environment.”

As for Buddy Duress, the troubled actor at the center of the Good Time scandal, his story ended tragically. He died of a heroin overdose in November 2023, his brief moment in the cinematic spotlight overshadowed by controversy and personal demons.

In the end, the Safdie brothers’ split is more than just another Hollywood falling-out. It’s a cautionary tale about ambition, artistic risk, and the ethical boundaries that can be crossed in the relentless pursuit of cinematic “truth.” As awards season buzzes with talk of Josh’s solo triumphs, the question lingers: at what cost comes greatness?