--- title: Last Tango in Paris Director Responds to Rape Scene Backlash description: Find out what "Last Tango in Paris" director, Bernardo Bertolucci, had to say about the backlash surrounding the infamous butter rape scene in the film. canonical: https://time.com/4592253/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-rape-scene/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-06T18:43:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:02.724Z og:title: 'Last Tango in Paris' Director Responds to Backlash Over Rape Scene og:description: 'I would like, for the last time, to clear up a ridiculous misunderstanding' og:url: https://time.com/4592253/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-rape-scene/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae47b5849edc323a/6988b1e6e20a870dc9a93726/last-tango-in-paris-backlash.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3543 og:image:height: 1993 og:image:alt: Marlon Brando mit Maria Schneider in Der letzte Tango in Paris og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Last Tango in Paris' Director Responds to Backlash Over Rape Scene twitter:description: 'I would like, for the last time, to clear up a ridiculous misunderstanding' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae47b5849edc323a/6988b1e6e20a870dc9a93726/last-tango-in-paris-backlash.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Last Tango in Paris_ Director Responds to Backlash Over Rape Scene > 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=9a208619-0e5d-4723-9400-06310d347e8c&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Mike Miller / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Mike Miller / People Contributor Dec 6, 2016 6:43 PM UTC  Marlon Brando,Marlon Brando,Maria Schneider,Maria Schneider (\*03.04.1924-02.07.2004+) , Schauspieler; USA, mit Maria Schneider in, 'Der letzte Tango in Paris', - 1972 Marlon Brando,Marlon Brando,Maria Schneider,Maria Schneider (\*03.04.1924-02.07.2004+) , Schauspieler; USA, mit Maria Schneider in, 'Der letzte Tango in Paris', - 1972 ullstein bild—ullstein bild via Getty Images by [Mike Miller / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Mike Miller / People Contributor Dec 6, 2016 6:43 PM UTC _Last Tango in Paris_ director Bernardo Bertolucci is speaking out amid [the recent backlash](http://people.com/movies/last-tango-paris-butter-rape-scene-not-consensual/) over a controversial rape scene in the 1973 film. In a recently resurfaced interview at La Cinémathèque Française in 2013, the director admitted that he and Marlon Brando came up with the idea for using butter as a lubricant for the rape scene that day — but chose not to tell the actress, Maria Schneider, about that element before shooting it. The interview, which resurfaced online this weekend, sparked outraged, with [celebrities like Jessica Chastain](http://people.com/movies/jessica-chastain-last-tango-paris-reaction-tweet/) expressing disgust that the scene was sprung on the 19-year-old actress without her consent. “I feel sick,” the actress [tweeted](http://people.com/movies/last-tango-paris-butter-rape-scene-not-consensual/). In a statement issued in Italian on Monday and reported by [_Variety_](http://variety.com/2016/film/global/bernardo-bertolucci-responds-to-last-tango-in-paris-backlash-1201933605/), Bertolucci clarified his comments, saying, “I would like, for the last time, to clear up a ridiculous misunderstanding that continues to generate press reports about _Last Tango in Paris_ around the world.” “Several years ago at the Cinemathèque Francaise someone asked me for details on the famous ‘butter scene,’ ” he continued. “I specified, but perhaps I was not clear, that I decided with Marlon Brando not to inform Maria that we would have used butter. We wanted her spontaneous reaction to that improper use \[of the butter\]. That is where the misunderstanding lies.” He added, “Somebody thought, and thinks, that Maria had not been informed about the violence on her. That is false!” Bertolucci explained, “Maria knew everything because she had read the script, where it was all described. The only novelty was the idea of the butter. And that, as I learned many years later, offended Maria. Not the violence that she is subjected to in the scene, which was written in the screenplay.” Before her death in 2011, Schneider told the [_Daily Mail_](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-469646/I-felt-raped-Brando.html) of the scene, “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 apologize. Thankfully, there was just one take.” According to _Variety,_ at the time of her death, Bertolucci told Italian news agency ANSA, “Her death came too soon, before I could tenderly hug her again, tell her that I felt close to her like the first day, and at least once, say I was sorry.” _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/movies/last-tango-in-paris-director-responds-backlash-over-butter-rape-scenem/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4592253/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-rape-scene/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4592253/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-rape-scene/"},"headline":"Last Tango in Paris Director Responds to Backlash Over Rape Scene","datePublished":"2016-12-06T18:43:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:02.724Z","description":"'I would like, for the last time, to clear up a ridiculous misunderstanding'","url":"https://time.com/4592253/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-rape-scene/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae47b5849edc323a/6988b1e6e20a870dc9a93726/last-tango-in-paris-backlash.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mike Miller / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae47b5849edc323a/6988b1e6e20a870dc9a93726/last-tango-in-paris-backlash.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Marlon Brando mit Maria Schneider in Der letzte Tango in Paris","caption":"Marlon Brando mit Maria Schneider in Der letzte Tango in Paris","creditText":"ullstein bild—ullstein bild via Getty Images","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":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4592253/bernardo-bertolucci-last-tango-rape-scene/","name":"Last Tango in Paris Director Responds to Backlash Over Rape Scene"}}]}] ```