“Things were different”: Olivia Newton-John hits back at Grease sexism claims
Olivia Newton-John had addressed backlash surrounding her classic 1979 movie Grease.
In the smash hit musical, the Aussie actress plays goody-two-shoes Sandy Olsson who changes who she is at the end of the movie to impress her bad-boy boyfriend, Danny Zuko (played by John Travolta).
Despite the final scene being hailed as one of the most iconic movie screen moments, in recent times it’s been classified as sexist.
Speaking to The Guardian, Newton-John said critics need to take into account that the movie was filmed during a very different time period.
"It's a movie," the 72-year-old told the publication. "It's a story from the Fifties 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."
Back in 2018, when the film celebrated its 40th birthday, Travolta also said he was proud of the film and how it remains a fan favourite with audiences both new and old.
"This is a film that's so timeless that keeps on giving to each new generation," he told ET at the time. "When people watch this, they just get happy. They want to become the characters they're watching. They want to sing along with it, they want to dance, they want to be part of this film. When mutual enthusiasm comes together and creates an environment you can create almost anything and we created Grease."