Lily James attended a New York City screening of her new film Swiped on Tuesday night, turning heads in a plunging black corset paired with matching trousers and pointed heels as she continued the film's promotional tour.
James, 36, who portrays Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd in the film, said she has not used dating apps herself and expressed concern that online platforms could diminish the practice of meeting people in person. "Well I'm kind of scared that we're losing this like lost art of like seeing someone in a bar and just like catching their eye and going over," she said at the event.
Swiped dramatizes Wolfe Herd's rise and the challenges she faced during the early days of app-based dating. The film depicts allegations of sexual harassment Wolfe Herd has said she experienced while at Tinder and follows her subsequent role in founding Bumble. James said she first read the script before the Screen Actors Guild strike and was surprised by aspects of Wolfe Herd's story. "I was really unfamiliar," she said. "Dating apps are so a part of our culture, whether you like it or not—they determine and dictate a lot of how we meet people."
James called Wolfe Herd's journey "deeply inspiring," noting the entrepreneur's growth from adversity to leading an influential tech company. Executive producer Gala Gordon was among those who attended the screening.
The actress also discussed how her priorities have shifted in her thirties, saying the awareness that "life is finite" has led her to choose projects more selectively. "I only want to do stuff that I really care about," she said. "I want to spend time with the people I love. I want to make the most of this wild and crazy life, so I only want to work on stuff that I really love. That's changed."
James has previously said she felt self-conscious about the idea of being on a dating app, adding that she tries to stay "as private as I can." She was last publicly linked romantically to musician Michael Shuman in late 2023.
At the screening, James's outfit was noted in fashion coverage: a fitted black corset, coordinated trousers and simple silver earrings. She continues to promote Swiped as it reaches audiences amid ongoing public interest in the origins and culture of app-based dating.