--- title: 'Last Tango in Paris' Director Admits Butter Scene Was Nonconsensual description: Bernardo Bertolucci said he and Marlon Brando decided to use butter as a lubricant for the rape scene — but didn't tell Maria Schneider. canonical: https://time.com/4589734/last-tango-in-paris-director-butter-rape-scene/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-03T21:44:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:01.554Z og:title: 'Last Tango in Paris' Director Admits Controversial Rape Scene Was Nonconsensual og:description: The actors did not have sex, but Maria Schneider did not know the extent of the scene og:url: https://time.com/4589734/last-tango-in-paris-director-butter-rape-scene/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46c1b12efdb4f46b/6988b07dfb4eac394f89016b/last-tango-in-paris.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2878 og:image:height: 1619 og:image:alt: ITALY BRANDO OBIT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Last Tango in Paris' Director Admits Controversial Rape Scene Was Nonconsensual twitter:description: The actors did not have sex, but Maria Schneider did not know the extent of the scene twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46c1b12efdb4f46b/6988b07dfb4eac394f89016b/last-tango-in-paris.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Last Tango in Paris_ Director Admits Controversial Rape Scene Was Nonconsensual > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=7cdb76ed-2134-436a-81a3-870821b020fd&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Dave Quinn / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Dave Quinn / People Contributor Dec 3, 2016 9:44 PM UTC  Director Bernardo Bertolucci, left, discusses a scene from "Last Tango in Paris" with leading actor Marlon Brando and actress Maria Schneider during location shooting in Paris. Director Bernardo Bertolucci, left, discusses a scene from "Last Tango in Paris" with leading actor Marlon Brando and actress Maria Schneider during location shooting in Paris. AP by [Dave Quinn / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Dave Quinn / People Contributor Dec 3, 2016 9:44 PM UTC One of the most controversial rape scenes in Hollywood history was filmed without the consent of its lead actress. Maria Schneider received critical praise for her performance in 1973’s _Last Tango in Paris —_ lauded for her gut-wrenching performance [by Roger Ebert](http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/last-tango-in-paris-1972) as an actress who “doesn’t seem to act her role so much as to exude it.” But if Schneider’s acting felt realistic in the controversial scene in which Marlon Brando’s character rapes her 20-year-old character with the aid of a stick of butter, it’s because Schneider didn’t know what was happening at the time. Director Bernardo Bertolucci admitted in an interview at La Cinémathèque Française in Paris in 2013 that he and Brando came up with the idea for using butter as a lubricant for the rape scene that day — but chose not to tell Schneider about that element before shooting it. “I’d been in a way horrible to Maria because I didn’t tell her what was going on,” Bertulocci said in the recently surfaced clip. “Because I wanted her reaction as a girl, not as an actress.” “I wanted her to react humiliated,” he added. “I think she hated me and also Marlon because we didn’t tell her.” Schneider was an unknown actress when she was cast in _Last Tango in Paris._ Her U.S. film career dissipated after the movie’s release — though she continued working steadily in France. She never filmed another nude scene. She died on February 3, 2011 in Paris. She was 58. In an exclusive essay to the _Daily Mail_ in 2007, Schneider wrote she felt violated by the experience. “I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci,” she [said](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-469646/I-felt-raped-Brando.html). “After the scene, Marlon didn’t console me or \[apologize\]. Thankfully, there was just one take.” At the time of filming _Last Tango in Paris_, Brando was 48 while Schneider was just 19. As news of the action resurfaced, many reacted on social media about the controversy — including actress Jessica Chastain. > [](https://twitter.com/jes%5Fchastain/status/804966641998168064) “To all the people that love this film, you’re watching a 19 year old get raped by a 48 year old man,” the Oscar nominee [tweeted](https://twitter.com/jes%5Fchastain/status/804966641998168064?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw). “The director planned her attack. I feel sick. Bertolucci and Schneider didn’t stay in contact once the film was released. “After the movie, we really didn’t see each other because she was hating me,” Bertolucci said. He added that while he felt “guilty” for what he did, he did not regret the choice. “To obtain something I think you have to be completely free,” Bertolucci said. “I didn’t want Maria to act her humiliation her rage, I wanted her to Maria to feel, not to act, the rage and humiliation. Then she hated me for all of her life.” **UPDATE:** The original headline on this story implied that intercourse took place between the two actors. Details of the scene were “nonconsensual” according to Bertolucci. Schneider, who died in 2011, had previously said that she “felt a little raped” shooting the scene, but accounts by Schneider, Bertolucci and Brando, who died in 2004, maintain no intercourse took place during filming. For more on this story, visit [People.com.](http://motto.time.com/4592253/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-rape-scene/) [_This story_](http://people.com/movies/last-tango-paris-butter-rape-scene-not-consensual/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4589734/last-tango-in-paris-director-butter-rape-scene/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4589734/last-tango-in-paris-director-butter-rape-scene/"},"headline":"Last Tango in Paris Director Admits Controversial Rape Scene Was Nonconsensual","datePublished":"2016-12-03T21:44:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:01.554Z","description":"The actors did not have sex, but Maria Schneider did not know the extent of the scene","url":"https://time.com/4589734/last-tango-in-paris-director-butter-rape-scene/","keywords":["motto","Movie","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46c1b12efdb4f46b/6988b07dfb4eac394f89016b/last-tango-in-paris.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dave Quinn / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46c1b12efdb4f46b/6988b07dfb4eac394f89016b/last-tango-in-paris.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ITALY BRANDO OBIT","caption":"ITALY BRANDO OBIT","creditText":"AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4589734/last-tango-in-paris-director-butter-rape-scene/","name":"Last Tango in Paris Director Admits Controversial Rape Scene Was Nonconsensual"}}]}] ```