NPRs Fresh Air Parts Ways With Film Critic David Edelstein After Last Tango In Paris Rape Comment
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David Edelstein, a New York Magazine film critic and a contributor to NPRs Fresh Air, will no longer be a part of the radio show after he was criticized for insensitive comments he made in the wake of Bernardo Bertoluccis death earlier this week.
Edelstein said in a Facebook post Monday about the Italian directors 1972 Last Tango In Paris that “Even grief is better with butter,” referring to a rape scene in the film featuring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. In 2007, Schneider told the Daily Mail that the scene was not in the original script, and she cried during the filming of the simulated act.
The Facebook post was deleted and Edelstein apologized via a statement from the magazine, saying he wasnt aware of the scenes backstory. But not before his comment was met with criticism and calls for his firing.
*warning: rape JFC, David Edelstein. All day Ive avoided noting this mans death precisely because of this moment in which a sexual assault of an actress was intentionally captured on film. And this asshole makes it into this joke. Fire him. Immediately. pic.twitter.com/NOITGeb7EY
— Martha Plimpton (@MarthaPlimpton) November 26, 2018
“Today we learned about film critic David Edelsteins Facebook post in response to the death of film director Bernardo Bertolucci,” NPR said in a statement Tuesday. “The post is offensive and unacceptable, especially given actress Maria Schneiders experience during the filming of Last Tango in Paris. The post does not meet the standards that we expect from Fresh Air contributors, or from journalists associated with WHYY or NPR. We appreciate the apology David posted, but we have decided to end Fresh Airs association with him, and have informed David accordingly.”
Earlier in the day, Edelstein, who also contributes to CBS Sunday Morning, apologized in a statement to USA Today.
“To my embarrassment, I was not aware of Maria Schneiders comments about the making of Last Tango in Paris, ” it read. “I now realize the joke was in poor taste and have removed it, and apologize for the remark.”
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