People label Grease ‘sexist’ and ‘problematic’ after rewatching

'It's just too problematic these days'

Released in 1978, Grease was a box-office and commercial hit, launching the careers of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John as Danny and Sandy.

The classic musical follows the story of two 1950s teens, Danny and Sandy, who are reunited as high school seniors after a summer fling and attempt to rekindle their romance despite being from vastly different groups at school.

With Danny as the stereotypical biker bad boy, Sandy ends up changing her prim and proper appearance to look like Danny, whilst he changes his appearance to become a classic high school jock.

The film also has one of the best-selling soundtracks, which sold more than 25 million copies worldwide, and included songs such as “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” “You’re the One that I Want,” and “Summer Nights,” with the last two both reaching number one in the UK chart.

But on rewatching the movie, some have labelled Grease "problematic."

"Rewatching Grease for the first time in years and realizing how problematic it is," one person posted on X (formerly Twitter) recently.

Another wrote: "Sorry I loved Grease when I was a kid, however, it's just too problematic these days" (before also sharing their problems with another classic in Dirty Dancing).

In particular the lyric ‘Did she put up a fight?’ from the song Summer Nights has come under scrutiny, with some claiming it could be a reference to sexual abuse or rape.

Pointing this out, one person said: "Grease singing ‘did she put up a fight?’ pretty much ruins the whole movie for me now aside from all the other problematic stuff".

"Ahhh man. Just watching #Grease one of my favourite films and it’s so of its time. Misogynistic, sexist and a bit rapey," another X user wrote.

Someone else agreed, writing: "I loved #Grease as a teenager, now I see it as a pile of misogynistic cr*p."

Meanwhile, another hit out at the film for being "misogynistic, homophobic, and just a gross culture of toxic masculinity, rape culture, and pedophilia."

Newton-John herself has previously addressed the modern day backlash to the film.

In 2021 she told the Life of Greatness podcast: “I think it’s kind of silly. I mean, this movie was made in the 1970s about the 1950s.

“It was a stage play, it’s a musical, it’s fun. It’s a fun movie musical, not to be taken so seriously.

“We need to relax a little bit and just enjoy things for what they are. I didn’t see it like that at all, I think it’s a fun movie that entertains people.”

And in a 2020 interview, she told the Guardian: "It's a movie. It's a story from the 50s where things were different. Everyone forgets that, at the end, he changes for her, too. There’s nothing deep in there about the #MeToo movement.

"It's just a girl who loves a guy, and she thinks if she does that, he’ll like her. And he thinks if he does that, she’ll like him. I think that’s pretty real. People do that for each other. It was a fun love story."

Related links:

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta revisited Grease characters in ‘fantastic’ final outing

Schools cancel Grease production after students say it’s too offensive