10 Movie Sex Scenes That Needed to Be Stopped

      Movie sex scenes serve as a reflection of our shifting norms regarding relationships and consent. Here are 10 instances that crossed the line in various manners.

      **Last Tango in Paris (1972)**

      A prime example of how not to create sex scenes. Director Bernardo Bertolucci, aged 30, and 48-year-old actor Marlon Brando decided on the day of the film’s most notorious sex scene to add butter into it, but they didn’t inform 19-year-old lead actress Maria Schneider until they started filming.

      “I wanted her reaction as a girl, not as an actress,” Bertolucci, who passed away in 2018, later explained. “I wanted her to feel humiliated.” Schneider, who died in 2007, expressed feeling violated by the scene.

      When the scene was scrutinized again in 2016, Bertolucci claimed Schneider knew the scene would involve violence, as it was in the script, though he acknowledged that “the only novelty was the butter... and that, as I learned many years later, offended Maria. Not the violence she experienced in the scene, which was written.” He also stated that the film’s sexual content was simulated.

      **Pretty Baby (1978)**

      It would be possible to create an entire documentary regarding Brooke Shields' exploitation—something she has done. The Hulu documentary *Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby* details the numerous ways Hollywood sought to sexualize Shields from a young age, named after *Pretty Baby*, a Louise Malle film based on the true story of a 12-year-old girl raised in a brothel by an exploitative mother.

      While the film empathizes with Shields’ character, Violet, it understandably raised concerns due to scenes depicting Shields undressed. In 1978, the film provoked debates on its decency, prompting the British Board of Film Classification to carefully consider its legality.

      One questionable moment involved a kiss between Shields, who was 11 at the time, and 28-year-old co-star David Carradine—though Shields later stated on *The Drew Barrymore Show* that Carradine acted “gracious” and was “protective” while filming.

      **Revenge of the Nerds (1984)**

      Numerous articles have addressed the issues with *Revenge of the Nerds*, particularly one scene where nerds use concealed cameras to spy on sorority women in their underwear, which constitutes a felony, nerds.

      **Revenge of the Nerds, Again (1984)**

      *Revenge of the Nerds* exemplifies shifting societal standards. One of the most disturbing scenes features lead nerd Lewis (Robert Carradine), the film’s supposed hero, who wears a mask to deceive a fellow student into believing he is her boyfriend. After their encounter, she expresses delight at how pleasurable it was, which serves as the movie’s justification for his deceitful actions. Horrible lessons abound.

      **Sixteen Candles (1984)**

      *Sixteen Candles* propagates highly damaging ideas. The film showcases a character whose terrible behavior is made to seem acceptable, presenting Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) as the perfect match for Samantha (Molly Ringwald). In one scene, Jake passes his unconscious girlfriend, Caroline (Haviland Morris), off to Ted, telling him, “Have fun.” The following day, Caroline and Ted surmise they had sex, with Caroline remarking, “You know, I have this weird feeling I did,” which attempts to justify the guys’ actions.

      **Basic Instinct (1992)**

      Sharon Stone wrote in her memoir, *The Beauty of Living Twice*, that a crew member deceived her into performing the most revealing scene in *Basic Instinct* by claiming she needed to remove her underwear due to lighting.

      She described being shocked by the final result, leading her to slap director Paul Verhoeven and promptly contact her lawyer—though she ultimately agreed to allow the scene’s release. Verhoeven later stated that Stone was a willing participant and was fully aware of what was happening, which she disputes.

      Stone mentioned in a podcast earlier this year that her participation in the film cost her custody of her child in a 2004 court case. “I lost custody of my child,” she said. “When the judge asked my child—my little boy—‘Do you know your mother makes sex movies?’”

      She lamented the system's implications on her character as a parent based on her film work.

      **Romeo and Juliet (1968)**

      The leads of the 1968 film *Romeo and Juliet* sued Paramount Pictures in 2022 for over $500 million concerning a scene shot when they were teenagers. Olivia Hussey, then 15, and Leonard Whiting, then 16, alleged that director Franco Zeffirelli misled them about wearing flesh-colored undergarments for an intimate scene,