âBama Rushâ doc crew feared for safety while filming in Tuscaloosa
A rumor punctuated by a New York Times article stoked a sense of paranoia among the “Bama Rush” documentary filmmakers, prompting producers to hire security during production.
The highly anticipated documentary (now streaming on Max) chronicles sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama that went viral on TikTok. During 2022 rush, rumors swirled online about a secret documentary crew hiding microphones on several women participating in rush, even prompting an article from The New York Times, which the film addresses directly.
Director Rachel Fleit is emphatic that the crew did not use secret microphones during production, but it did not stop anxiety from creeping in once the backlash hit.
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Warning: This contains spoilers for “Bama Rush.”
When The New York Times’ article about the microphone rumor broke and mentioned Fleit by name, producers decided the documentary crew needed protection while filming on and near the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa.
“I’m really paranoid,” Fleit says in the documentary. “Like everywhere I go, I’m looking over my shoulder. Our producers are requiring that we hire a security detail to be with the film’s crew at all times because they’re actually concerned about our physical safety at this point.”
Fleit told AL.com that, when viewers watch the film, they’ll see how the rumor “becomes this character” in it. “The rumor created quite a stir,” she said. “Luckily for me, most of the young women I was filming with, understood that we were not doing what this TikTok rumor was saying we were doing. They understood and believed that I still was the same filmmaker for nine months and I wasn’t doing something like secretly mic’ing girls and recording rush conversations or getting inside of the houses or doing that stuff the rumors alleged we were doing.”
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But once the NYT article mentioned her by name, she became anxious about filming in Tuscaloosa. “You’ll also see in the film that I have a very distinguishable characteristic that makes me impossible not to spot,” Fleit told AL.com. (Note: Fleit has alopecia.) “And so the producers of the film and myself and my team, we feared for our physical safety. There was so much backlash. It felt actually like things could get violent, to be honest, and they sent a security detail to be with me at all times while I was filming rush.
“So it got pretty intense. So with security team was sent to ensure that I was safe, that my film crew was safe and that the subjects were safe. And we didn’t announce the film until the trailer just keeping safety in mind.”
“In this nuanced and revealing documentary, Fleit explores the emotional complexities and stakes of belonging in this crucial window into womanhood,” Max says about “Bama Rush.” The film explores body image, race, class, social media pressures and the desire to belong through the lens of the Greek system.
More on Bama Rush:
‘Bama Rush’ documentary: How to watch, where to stream
What is The Machine? ‘Bama Rush’ shines light on University of Alabama’s powerful secret society
Bama Rush by the numbers: How much does it cost to join a UA sorority?
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