So Why did Steven Spielberg Softened the Lesbian Scenes in The Color Purple?

If you have read The Color Purple, you know there were sex between Shug Avery and Celie. Now in the 1985, the movie only touched on the issue, reducing their affair as a simple kiss.

Steven Spielberg talks about his decision to soften the lesbian scenes:

"There were certain things in the [lesbian] relationship between Shug Avery and Celie that were very finely detailed in Alice's book, that I didn't feel we could get a [PG-13] rating," Spielberg tells EW's Anthony Breznican. "And I was shy about it. In that sense, perhaps I was the wrong director to acquit some of the more sexually honest encounters between Shug and Celie, because I did soften those. I basically took something that was extremely erotic and very intentional, and I reduced it to a simple kiss. I got a lot of criticism for that."

Asked if he'd do it differently now, Spielberg says, "I wouldn't, no. That kiss is consistent with the tonality, from beginning to end, of The Color Purple that I adapted."

This is interesting, but I would want the movie to stick as close to the book as possible. So I would disagree with Steven. I think we could appreciate the intimate scenes between Shug and Miss Celie.

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