There are hundreds of rapes occurring every day, but rapes involving celebrities – whether they are the victims or accused – would always be followed by the public.
A rape which occurred 44 years ago is a hot topic now because the director of the 1972 movie “Last Tango in Paris” admitted that the rape of actress Maria Schneider was real. Bernardo Bertolucci, who directed the critically acclaimed Franco-Italian erotic drama film, admitted in a 2013 interview at La Cinematheque Francaise in Paris that he connived with actor Marlon Brando in the rape scene.
The video of the interview was posted on YouTube on Nov. 27 and became viral with more than half a million views.
Brando, who played Paul, a recently widowed American, raped 20-year-old Jeanne, the character played by Schneider, with the help of a stick of butter. Brando and Bertolucci decided to use the butter as lubricant for the rape scene and did not tell Schneider about it before shooting the scene, People reported.
The director explained that he made the rape scene real because he wanted Schneider to react humiliated. He thought the actress hated him and Brando after the incident because they did not tell her in advance.
However, the incident would just be another footnote in the illustrious career of Bertolucci and Brando since Schneider died in 2011 in Paris at the age of 58. She was an unknown actress when she accepted the role in “Last Tango in Paris,” but after the film her acting career in the U.S. floundered, although she acted in French films.
In 2007, Schneider wrote in an exclusive essay for Daily Mail that she “felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci.” She added, Brando did not even console or apologize after the rape scene which was just one take.
The director said Schneider did not stay in contact with him after “Last Tango in Paris” was released because she hated him. Bertolucci admitted he felt guilty over the incident but said he did not regret it since he wanted the actress to feel and not act the rage and humiliation.
Among the Hollywood actors who have criticized Bertolucci following the posting of the interview on YouTube were Jessica Chastain, Chris Evans and Evan Rachel Wood, according to Independent. Schneider, in her essay, said on a hindsight she should have called her agent or lawyer but at that time she did not know what to do.
“I will never look at this film, Bertolucci or Brando the same way again. This is beyond disgusting. I feel rage,” Chastain wrote, while Evans said the actor and director should be jailed.