Film Critic David Edelstein Dropped As Contributor To NPR And WHYY/Philadelphia's 'Fresh Air' Over Joke Tweet

Edelstein (Photo: CBS News)

NPR and WHYY INC. News-Talk WHYY/PHILADELPHIA has cut ties with contributing film critic DAVID EDELSTEIN after a joke he tweeted about the death of director BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI drew offense.

BERTOLUCCI, who died YESTERDAY in ROME at 77, directed "LAST TANGO IN PARIS," and in later years admitted that he and MARLON BRANDO had failed to tell MARIA SCHNEIDER the details of the infamous "butter scene" she was about to shoot, which many took as an admission of sexual assault. (SCHNEIDER, who passed away in 2011, said in a 2007 interview that she did not know about the rape scene until just before the cameras rolled and while the sex was simulated, she was angry and felt violated.) EDELSTEIN's since-deleted tweet displayed a screen capture from the scene with the caption "Even grief goes better with butter," to which actress MARTHA PLIMPTON replied, "All day I’ve avoided noting this man's 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."

EDELSTEIN, film critic for NEW YORK MAGAZINE and CBS' "SUNDAY MORNING," has apologized, saying in a statement obtained by USA TODAY, “To my embarrassment, I was not aware of MARIA SCHNEIDER's comments about the making of 'LAST TANGO IN PARIS.' I now realize the joke was in poor taste and have removed it, and apologize for the remark.” But the apology came too late for FRESH AIR, which issued a statement calling EDELSTEIN's joke "offensive and unacceptable" and below its standards. "We appreciate the apology DAVID posted," the statement concluded, "but we have decided to end FRESH AIR's association with him, and have informed DAVID accordingly."

Fresh Air's statement on cutting ties with critic David Edelstein: pic.twitter.com/yLFyFbpzgv

— Fresh Air (@nprfreshair) November 27, 2018

« see more Net News