12 Movie Sex Scenes That Should Have Been Prevented

      Sex scenes in movies serve as a reflection of our changing standards regarding relationships and consent.

      Here are 10 instances that crossed numerous boundaries.

      Let's get started.

      **Last Tango in Paris (1972)**

      This film stands as a prime example of how not to direct intimate scenes. On the day they filmed the movie’s most controversial scene, director Bernardo Bertolucci, 30, and 48-year-old star Marlon Brando decided to introduce butter into the scene without informing 19-year-old lead actress Maria Schneider until the cameras were rolling.

      Bertolucci, who passed away in 2018, later mentioned, “I wanted her reaction as a girl, not as an actress. I wanted her to react humiliated.” Schneider, who passed away in 2007, expressed that she felt violated by the scene.

      Amid renewed criticism in 2016, Bertolucci noted that while Schneider knew the scene would contain violence and that it was scripted, the “only novelty was the idea of the butter,” which he realized many years later upset Maria, not the scripted violence. He also clarified that the sexual acts in the film were simulated.

      **Pretty Baby (1978)**

      One could create an entire documentary about Brooke Shields' exploitation — and she did. The recent Hulu documentary *Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby* explores the many ways Hollywood sought to sexualize Shields from a young age, taking its name from the Louise Malle film about a 12-year-old raised in a brothel and exploited by her mother.

      The film empathizes with Shields’ character Violet, yet raises significant concerns as it depicts Shields in nudity. Even by 1978 standards, it was so controversial that numerous articles questioned its appropriateness, prompting the British Board of Film Classification to deliberate on its legality.

      One particularly problematic moment involves a kiss between 11-year-old Shields and 28-year-old co-star David Carradine, though Shields remarked on *The Drew Barrymore Show* that Carradine was “gracious” and “protective” of her during filming.

      **Revenge of the Nerds (1984)**

      Numerous critiques could be written about the issues presented in *Revenge of the Nerds*, and many have, but a significant concern is a scene where nerds use hidden cameras to view sorority women undressing. This constitutes a felony, nerds.

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

      This film showcases shifting societal standards. A particularly alarming part is when lead nerd Lewis (Robert Carradine), who the film portrays as the hero, dons a mask to deceive another student into thinking he is her boyfriend. After they have sex, she expresses delight at the experience, which the film uses to excuse the deceitful act. Terrible lessons abound.

      **Sixteen Candles (1984)**

      *Sixteen Candles* perpetuates some deeply troubling notions. Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) is depicted as the perfect guy for our protagonist, Samantha (Molly Ringwald). However, at one moment, Jake passes off his unconscious girlfriend, Caroline (Haviland Morris), to another guy, Ted.

      Jake tells Ted, “Have fun.” The following day, Caroline and Ted presume they slept together. He inquires if she enjoyed it, and she replies, “You know, I have this weird feeling I did,” which is the film’s rationale for the male characters' actions.

      **Basic Instinct (1992)**

      In her memoir *The Beauty of Living Twice*, Sharon Stone recounted how a crew member deceived her into filming the most revealing moment in *Basic Instinct*, claiming her underwear was “reflecting the light.”

      Stone expressed shock at the final product, resulting in her slapping director Paul Verhoeven and calling her lawyer immediately — though she eventually consented to the scene's release. Verhoeven later stated that Stone was a willing participant who “knew exactly what we were doing,” a claim she disputes.

      Stone mentioned in a podcast earlier this year that her role in the film impacted her custody case in 2004.

      “I lost custody of my child,” she said. “When the judge asked my little boy, ‘Do you know your mother makes sex movies?’”

      She lamented the system's abuse, emphasizing how her role in the film affected perceptions of her as a parent.

      **Romeo and Juliet (1968)**

      The two leads of the 1968 adaptation of *Romeo and Juliet* sued Paramount Pictures in 2022 for over $500 million concerning a scene they filmed as teenagers. Olivia Hussey, 15, and Leonard Whiting, 16, claimed that director Franco Zeffirelli, who died in 2019, misled them by stating they would wear flesh-colored undergarments for an intimate scene, only to reveal on shooting day that they would only