In the 1972 film Last Tango in Paris, one incredibly graphic scene involves Marlon Brando’s character sexually violating Maria Schneider’s character with a stick of butter. A recently uncovered video from 2013 features director Bernardo Bertolucci admitting that he and Brando didn’t tell Schneider what they were about to do, calling the integrity of all parties involved into question.
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Understandably, these comments have enraged many people both inside Hollywood and around the world. Some prominent voices in the Hollywood community took to Twitter to share in their disgust:
To all the people that love this film- you’re watching a 19yr old get raped by a 48yr old man. The director planned her attack. I feel sick. https://t.co/qVDom2gYf6
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) December 3, 2016
I second that. This is heartbreaking and outrageous. The 2 of them are very sick individuals to think that was ok. https://t.co/Ft4SArjcgd
— #EvanRachelWould (@evanrachelwood) December 3, 2016
Wow. I will never look at this film, Bertolucci or Brando the same way again. This is beyond disgusting. I feel rage https://t.co/uvaLogvv7I
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) December 3, 2016
@colliderfrosty @ChrisEvans Ms Schneider stated this several years ago. I used to get eye-rolls when I brought it up to people (aka dudes).
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) December 3, 2016
It’s important to note that in an interview with Daily Mail in 2007, Schneider says of the experience, “I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci. After the scene, Marlon didn’t console me or apologise. Thankfully, there was just one take.”
Due to the graphic depiction of sex in the film, many have hypothesized that the sex actually took place between Brando and Schneider, but when confronted with the question, she clarified, “Not at all. There was no attraction between us. For me, he was more like a father figure and I a daughter.”
Regardless of what specifically took place on the set of Last Tango in Paris over 40 years ago, the director’s admission of coercionon the film have caused some to dismiss it as a work of filth that features nonconsensual acts being performed on a 19-year-old girl by a then-48-year-old Hollywood superstar.
Brando passed away in 2004, Schneider passed away in 2011, and Bertolucci hasn’t been reached for comment to clarify all of the recent allegations.
[H/T Variety]
