‘Beyond disgusting’: Hollywood’s horror at Last Tango In Paris rape revelation

The erotic drama features one of the most controversial sex scenes in cinema history, showing actor Marlon Brando, then 48, using a stick of butter to aid his character Paul’s non-consensual sex act against Jeanne, played by 19-year-old then-unknown Maria Schneider.

In a 2013 interview which gained traction on social media over the weekend, Bertolucci admitted he and Brando conspired behind the young Schneider’s back before the scene was shot.

Bertolucci explained how he wanted the scene, where Brando uses butter as a lubricant to rape Schneider, to be as realistic as possible.

Brando and the director agreed not to tell Schneider of their plan so her reaction would be “as a girl, not an actress”.

“The sequence of the butter is an idea that I had with Marlon in the morning before shooting,” Bertulocci said in an event held at La Cinémathèque Française in Paris in 2013.

WARNING: Graphic footage in video below

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“There was a baguette, there was butter and we looked at each other and, without saying anything, we knew what we wanted,” he said.

Berolucci said he felt horrible “in a way” for his treatment of Schneider, but went on to defend his actions.

“I wanted her to react humiliated,” he said. “I think she hated me and also Marlon because we didn’t tell her. I didn’t want Maria to act her humiliation her rage, I wanted her to Maria to feel ... the rage and humiliation. Then she hated me for all of her life,” he said.

As the interview gained traction in recent days, several of Hollywood’s biggest stars have voiced their horror at the director’s revelations, with action A-lister Chris Evans describing it as “beyond disgusting.”

“Wow. I will never look at this film, Bertolucci or Brando the same way again,” he tweeted, adding that the pair should have been jailed. “I feel rage.”

@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

Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick responded to Evans, pointing out that the revelations are not in fact new — and that Schneider herself has publicly spoken about her mistreatment many times over the years.

“Ms Schneider stated this several years ago. I used to get eye-rolls when I brought it up to people (aka dudes),” Kendrick told Evans.

Indeed, Schneider — whose turbulent years after Last Tango In Paris were marked by drug addiction and a suicide attempt — said in an interview almost a decade ago that she wished she’d taken action against Brando and Bertolucci during the film.

“I should have called my agent or had my lawyer come to the set because you can’t force someone to do something that isn’t in the script, but at the time, I didn’t know that. Marlon said to me: ‘Maria, don’t worry, it’s just a movie,’ but during the scene, even though what Marlon was doing wasn’t real, I was crying real tears. 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,” she said in a 2007 interview.

Others including Oscar-nominated Jessica Chastain and KISS rocker Paul Stanley voiced their horror at the revelations.

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

https://t.co/AtRjzqT7Ww So heinous & ugly. Rape is rape and can NEVER be justified or rationalized. Another victim and 2 rapists unpunished.

— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) December 4, 2016

Schneider, 58, died from cancer in 2011.

Brando, who died in 2004 at the age of 80, was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the film, as did Bertolucci for directing.