Did Bethenny Frankel Sexualize Teen Daughter?

Within the past three months, Bethenny Frankel has been accused of sexualizing Bryn - Frankel's 13-year-old teen daughter. 

For example, on December 29, 2023, Leah Bitsky posted on “Page Six”: “Bethenny Frankel blasted for posting bikini photos of 13-year-old daughter: ‘So inappropriate’” Bitsky wrote:

The mom-shamers are mentioning it all.

Bethenny Frankel was ridiculed for sharing bikini photos of her 13-year-old daughter Bryn on social media.

The former “Real Housewives of New York City” star posted a carousel of snaps showing the mother-daughter duo enjoying the white sandy beaches of Turks and Caicos on Thursday.

She also shared multiple snaps of Bryn soaking up some sun while wearing a light-blue bikini — angering several of Frankel’s 3.3 million followers.

Bethenny Frankel & Bryn (13)

Consequently, Bitsky related that some of Frankel’s followers accused Frankel of exploiting Bryn. For example, one follower commented: “Swimsuit shots of your daughter are so Inappropriate and exploitive [sic]” And another follower commented: “She’s only 13 might want to put some clothes on or on social media.!” 

However, some of Frankel’s followers opined that Bryn’s teen bikini pictures were appropriate. One follower commented: “STOP THE MEAN COMMENTS [...] What she [i.e., Bryn] wears is totally appropriate.” And another supportive follower commented: “To me, these pics look like a mother and daughter bonding [...] Bikinis aren’t allowed?”

On March 19, 2024 Emily Selleck posted on “Page Six”: "Bethenny Frankel sparks outrage after buying phallic dessert with daughter Bryn, 13: ‘Make better decisions’" Selleck posted: 

Bethenny Frankel caused a stir on social media when she shared a snap of the phallic dessert she purchased with her 13-year-old daughter, Bryn.

Over the weekend, the “Real Housewives of New York City” alum shared a glimpse via social media of her Australian vacation with her daughter ahead of her “In Conversation with Bethenny Frankel” panel.

In the pics, the mother-daughter duo explored Melbourne along the Yarra River, before indulging in a multi-colored, glittery dessert from Mykiki, which resembled a penis.

Bethenny Frankel, Bryn (13) and Mykiki Dessert

Referencing to the large “glittery dessert” penis, Frankel posted:

“Exploring all that Melbourne has to offer [...] We are so happy here! PS. The food scene here is incredible and let’s just say we got more than we bargained for…👀🙈🌈” 

Consequently, some of Frankel’s followers were outraged. For example, one follower commented: “Confused about the last pic and trying to set an example for your young daughter”. And another asked: “Why would you post that with photos of you and your daughter!”

However, and unsurprisingly, some of Frankel’s followers condoned the dessert d*ck pic. For instance, one supportive follower commented: “Bethenny I am so sorry all of these people are being haters – you’re a fantastic mother, your daughter is beautiful and these trolls just need a hug and some healing”

Kylie Jenner’s 17th Birthday (Big) Penis Cake

(The last time we wrote about a teen and a penis shaped pastry was when we related that 25-year-old Tygy gifted Kylie Jenner a penis shaped cake for her 17th birthday.)

And on March 21, 2024, Riley Cardoza posted on “Page Six”: “Bethenny Frankel threatens to ‘f–k up’ trolls criticizing the way daughter Bryn, 13, dresses" Cardoza posted:

Bethenny Frankel wants the parenting police to back off.

The former “Real Housewives of New York City” star warned social media trolls against criticizing her 13-year-old daughter Bryn’s clothes, telling naysayers to “keep f–king walking” in an Instagram video Wednesday [March 20].

“Some people think it’s their business how I parent and how my daughter dresses,” Frankel said. “I have the most beautiful, thoughtful, caring, loving, spiritual, sensitive, darling, loving, smart human being for a child, and that takes work.”

Bethenny Frankel & Bryn (13)

It appears that some of Frankel’s followers commented that Bryn should avoid cleavage revealing crop tops - with cherries on top, which the 13-year-old modeled in her mother’s March 19th social media post. However, andy_todd299 commented: “Love Bryn she [is] so adorable 😍” (Like Charlotte of And Just Like That, should we assume that Andy's an ephebophile.)

Interestingly, if Bryn were 18, Frankel would not have had any or many detractors; however, Orthodox Jews and Muslims would argue that 13-year-olds and 18-year-olds (and older) should avoid wearing bikinis and cleavage revealing crop tops with red cherries on top - in public.

Hulu's PLAN B (2021): A "Raunchy Teen [Sex] Comedy"

Here's Hulu's plot summary for Plan B (2021):

After a regrettable first sexual encounter, a straight-laced high school student [Sunny] (Kuhoo Verma) and her slacker best friend [Lupe] (Victoria Moroles) have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America's heartland.

Seconds into Plan B, which BuzzFeed referred to as "Hulu's New Raunchy Teen Comedy", Lupe sexted a picture of her panties covered derrière, and Sunny masturbated to a picture of a "man" in her science book. 

While dressing for gym class in the high school locker room, Megan shared, "Oh, did I tell you? We finally tried reverse cowgirl." Subsequently, during gym, Megan straddled, rubbed it against her bottom-grass, and licked a hockey stick. 

The lesbian subplot appeared to be disingenuous and masquerading as a lipstick lesbian subplot, because Lupe shared that she had sex with a boy at church camp, that she had previously performed oral sex on a boy, and she apparently watched heteronormative porn.

Sunny: "Oh, what's a skull fuck?"

Lupe: "It's when a guy puts his junk in your mouth and humps your skull."

Sunny: "That's a real thing?"

Lupe: "I'll send you some links."

In addition to the lipstick lesbian subplot, Sunny and Lupe came upon a couple of nymphoplepts, one of whom demanded that Sunny, "Pee on my face - right now!"

In an effort to get a fake I.D. from a drug dealer, Sunny and lipstick lesbian Lupe argued over whom would "suck his dick" for the counterfeit card. 

Lupe: "What? You can't suck his dick. I'm gonna suck his dick."
Sunny: "Let me sucnk his dick!"
Lupe: "No, let me suck his dick!"

Lupe shared that Sunny masturbates on the regular, "[...] you spent the whole weekend doing flash cards and diddling yourself as usual." And Kuhoo Verma shared with Buzzfeed that her character Sunny reminded her of herself in middle school:

"I looked to 'middle school Kuhoo' and looked to, like, how she navigated the world and felt such awkwardness and weird sexual shame [...]"

Lastly, Plan B is a Hulu Original, an American High film ("Embrace the R-rated reality of high school"), thus far, the film has 100% Tomatometer from 26 film critics on Rotten Tomatoes, despite the fact that the film has a 2021 date, it's considered one of the Best Comedy Movies of 2020, and Emma Specter of Vogue opined: "Plan B Is the Sex Positive Buddy Comedy I Needed as a Teenage Girl" (May 28, 2021)

Lifetime's HIGH SCHOOL LOVER (2017): Teen Oral Sex in Helicopter with Movie Star

Here's the Movie Info from Rotten Tomatoes for Lifetimes High School Lover (2017): A [17-years-old] teenage girl starts dating an older [26-years-old] famous actor, much to her father's [James Franco] dismay, but their romance puts her family in danger when her beau's adoration spirals into obsession.

High School Lover was written by two women - Jessica Dube and Amber Viera. And here's a taste of the dialogue that took place between two high school coeds four minutes into the film:

"I hope you're not wearing that dress your dad got you."

"Screw you bitch!"

"Yes! Please! You know at least someone would be getting screwed here."

Kelley Winters (Paulina Singer), the 17-year-old high school student, met Christian Booth, the 26-year-old famous actor, at an exclusive party. While Kelly's high school mates snorted cocaine,  Christian asked Kelly, "How old are you?" But before Kelly could answer, Christian said, "Actually, don't tell me."

After they left the party, one of Kelly's classmates demanded, "You have to have sex with him (i.e., Christian Booth); so, I'll know what it's like." Later, Kelly's classmate inquired, "Did you get the D?"

Later, after Christian introduced himself to Kelly's dad, Kelly's dad informed, "You know they're all seventeen - right? How old are you?" Christian responded, "Twenty-six sir." [Note: The age-of-consent in New York, where the film was filmed and set, is 17; thus, the film follows the spirit of the law as oppose to the letter of the law.] 

Against her father's wishes, Kelly continued her affair with Christian and after the age-gap couple took a helicopter ride, where Kelly performed oral sex on Christian, Christian antagonistically sexted the video to Kelly's father. 

I won't spoil the ending of the teen romance slash thriller, but I will share a revealing conversation:

Christian, "She was begging [for sex], alright."

Kelly's dad, "She's seventeen!"

Christian, "Yeah. Yeah. I know. That's why is was so good."

Interestingly, Jerell Rosales, the film's director, made it a point of displaying Kelly in her bra and panties. 

Kelly's dad [Franco], is ten years older than Kelly's step-mother, who previously dated her step-daughter's lover. 

Paulina Singer [Kelly] played Madison in The Nymphets (2015), which per IMDb is about: "A precarious man [who] invites a group of wild young girls to his loft to party even though he knows it's a terrible idea."

And High School Lover (2017) was executive produced by Franco.

Louis C.K.'s I LOVE YOU, DADDY: Teen Girls with "Boners" for Older Dudes | Old\Young

This is IMDb's plot summary of Louis C.K.'s I Love You, Daddy (2017):

"When a successful television writer's [Glen (Louis C.K.)] daughter [China (Chloë Grace Moretz)] becomes the interest of an aging filmmaker [Leslie Goodwin (John Malkovich)] with an appalling past, he becomes worried about how to handle the situation."

Wikipedia elaborated:

"C.K. plays television writer and producer Glen Topher, who becomes disconcerted after his teenage daughter is seduced by a much older film director. The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017. Initially scheduled to be released in the United States on November 17, 2017 by The Orchard, the film was dropped following sexual misconduct accusations made against C.K. a week prior to the intended debut."

[Note: Although I Love You, Daddy (2017) was never released, we were able to do a review after a critic shared his or her copy.]

Towards the beginning of the film, Maggie (Pamela Adlon) complimented China on her tan. China developed that tan while on her senior year of high school spring break where she participated in "Mother May I" - a (teen) sex game:

Maggie: "Oh my God! Look at you. You got so fucking tanned. Fuck off! Baby. It's March in New York, and you look like a Schvartze came all over you."

China: "What's a Schvartze?"

Glen: "It's Jewish for n_gger."

Maggie: "No it's not. Yes it is. But not in a bad way."

Later, Grace (Rose Byrne) threw a party at her house in The Hamptons for the famous writer and director - Leslie Goodwin (John Malkovich). Grace admitted, "I like to throw him these parties so he can scam on all the young girls [...] He loves it. He's an old perv."

Upon entering the party, the following conversation took place between China, China's dad, and China's schoolmate - Zasha (Ebonee Noel).

Glen: "Oh my God."

China: "What?"

Glen: "That's Leslie Goodwin. I've wanted to meet him my whole life."

China: "Eww, wasn't he a child molester?"

Zasha: "Allegedly."

Glen: "That's just a rumor."

China: "Dad. He's a child molester."

Glen: "You don't know that China. That's just a story."

China: "Ah. God, he's gross."

Zasha: "Yeah, but he's sexy."

China: "Zash, come on."

Glen: "You know China, you shouldn't say things like that about a person you don't know - who you just heard rumors about."

China: "OK, well. He also dates really young women. And he's, what, like 80-years-old?"

Glen: "He's a great artist. Probably the best writer filmmaker in the last 30 years or more."

Subsequently, Leslie sparked up an engaging conversation on feminism with China by asking her what type of feminism she followed. And China appeared to be smitten when Leslie asked, "What do you think?" Eventually China shared, "I feel really weird talking to you [...] and I don't like you [...] It's what I've heard about you."

Leslie replied, "OK, well look, I haven't heard anything about you - for instance. I can only go by what I see in front of me - in meeting you. In my experience, that's the best thing to go by. And as far as I can see, you seem like a boorish and rude person with no boundaries. In other words, I think you're terrific. And if I read something terrible about you later, I won't believe it."

*****

Glen was supposed to have lunch with his idol Leslie, but Glen was disappointed after Leslie's office called and canceled. But Glen was shocked that his daughter knew why Leslie canceled. 

China: "Oh well, he's going to Europe tonight [...] I was just with him."

Glen: "You were with Leslie Goodwin?

China: "Yeah. Isn't that weird." 

Ralph (Charlie Day): "Well, it's not that weird. He likes young girls."

China: "Oh. Yes. He. Does."

Glen: "Why were you with Leslie Goodwin?"

China: "I was shopping for shorts at Barneys, and there he was [...] he goes there to, get this, to look at young girls."

In a flashback to Barneys, Leslie shared with China, "Oh, I actually come her quite often, because this is where all of Manhattan's elite girls come, and I like looking at them."

China: "You like looking at young girls?"

Leslie: "Sure, who doesn't. I mean if you had a choice between looking at a pretty girl your age or a retired bus driver, who would you choose?"

Leslie confessed to China that he was different than the other nympholepts who go to Barneys to leer at nymphets. Leslie, "[...] I'm interested in the whole person. It's not just about your perfect body, it's about where you are in this journey of life and humanity." 

Subsequently, Leslie encouraged China to try on a Barneys bikini before they went to Madison Square Park where Leslie purchased and distributed ice cream to the park-goers.  Afterwards, China shared with her dad, "God, it was the best fucking time I have had in years."

Later, Glen found out that China had plans to go to Paris with Leslie. Despite Glen's objections, "You're a minor! And you're 17!", China went to Paris on a private jet with Leslie. (Note: Actually, the age-of-consent in New York is a 17.)

After her birthday party that was held in Central Park, China went to Leslie's place to inform him, "Well, I'm officially 18. No longer a minor." (Once again, the age-of-consent in New York is 17.) After China straddled Leslie, she repeated, "I'm 18. I'm 18, and you're 68. And my friends. My friends think I'm crazy. They go, "China!" And I'm like, "Yeah, I know. He's 68. That's how long it takes to make a good man."

In the end, Glen told China that he had forbidden her from seeing Leslie. After a heated talk, Glen asked his daughter, "What about Leslie?" China chuckled and replied, "That's none of your business Glen," and left the house.

When Zasha arrived to pick up some things for China, Leslie reiterated to Zasha that he didn't want China to have a relationship with Leslie, because Leslie's is a pervert.

Zasha replied, "China's the real pervert here."

Glen: "China's a pervert?"

Zasha: "Yeah, she has such a boner for Leslie. Hilarious. That's always been our thing. She had a teacher in 9th grade who she tried to get to come on to her. Mr. Hoffman [...] Older dudes are sexy."

Lastly, Zasha shared with China's dad: "I used to have a boner for you throughout my teens. It's so normal [...] Who cares how old you are and who you are? [...] I had a thing for you when I was 14. So what?" 

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave I Love You, Daddy four stars and opined that Louis C.K.'s film: "[...] contrives to be a very funny and recklessly provocative homage to Woody Allen, channelling his masterpiece Manhattan and brilliantly finding a fictional way to tackle his personal reputation head-on."

Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Babies" i.e., Child Brides

"Crazy Babies" is the third track on Ozzy Osbourne's No Rest for the Wicked (1988). The album cover features Ozzy surrounded by three nymphets - scantily clad and beautified with make-up. 

We had no idea that the nymphets were portraying Ozzy's child brides until we read the following in Vanity Fair  (November 12, 2013):

When she [Liberty Ross] was 10, a family friend who was also a model agent asked her parents whether their daughter might be interested in posing as Ozzy Osbourne’s child bride for his new album cover. The response? Why, naturally. Liberty wore a tattered gauzy dress for her modeling debut and had to hold Ozzy’s hand while he sat on a throne adorned by rats and large slithering snakes. “It’s etched in my brain for life,” says Liberty. “I remember thinking, Gosh, he’s very sweaty and shaking a lot.”

Here are some intriguing lyrics:

Crazy Babies

Born to live on a permanent high

Nobody's gonna change them, change them

They've gone over the top

Nobody's gonna tame them, tame them

They're never gonna stop

Crazy Babies

When they were born they were born to be wild

No Rest for the Wicked (1988) went Platinum in Canada and double Platinum in the USA. 

NATALE A MIAMI (2005): Italian Teen Sex with Father's Best Friend

In the Italian film Natale a Miami (2005), middle-aged Giorgio (Christian De Sica) fights off the repeated sexual advances of Stella (Vanessa Hessler), his best-friend's stunningly beautiful 15-year-old daughter. (The 5' 9" Vanessa Hessler was approximately 16-years-old during the filming of the sex comedy.)

After not seeing Giorgio for years, the nymphet jumped into his arms and gave him a firm kiss - on the lips. 

Subsequently, in an aggressive effort to convince her father's best-friend to have sex with her, the teen seductress showed him a nude picture with a Post-it Note that read GUARDA COSA TI STAi PERDENDO! [Look, you're so missing out.]. And another picture with her in Lolita glasses sucking on a red lollipop with a Post-it Note that read RiPENSACi! [Think it over!]

Revealingly, 15-year-old Stella informed the middle-aged Giorgio that her love for him began when she was just 13. 

Ultimately,  Stella's father inadvertently gave his best-friend the green light to have sex [for ten seconds] with the teen daughter. 

100 STROKES OF THE BRUSH BEFORE BED: "The Erotic Adventures of a Sexually Ravenous [Teen] Girl"

Melissa Panarello’s semi-autobiographical novel, 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed [Italian: 100 colpi di spazzola prima di andare a dormire], has sold over a million copies. The following excerpt from a New York Times book review will serve as the plot summary: “The erotic adventures of a sexually ravenous girl...A wisp of a book [with] a wallop of an impact.” 

In the book, which is written in diary form, 14-year-old Melissa, “five-foot-two”, “pretty” with a “lovely little face”, masturbates in front of a mirror and at school: 

“Often with my image reflected in the mirror, I slip my finger inside, and I look into my eyes [...]” 

“[...] I touch myself, experiencing awesome orgasms, intense and brimming with fantasies” 

“Desire took possession of me even during school hours when, certain that no one was watching, I straddled the iron support of the desk and leaned my Secret against it with a gentle pressure.” 

Melissa performed oral sex on Daniele, an indifferent, insulting and irritating 18-year-old, at his vacation home until: 

“[...] all of a sudden there was a surprise: my mouth filled with hot, sour liquid, thick and plentiful [...] I drank the liquid because I didn’t know what else to do with it [...]” 

Eventually, Melissa lost her virginity to Daniele. She was still 15, and he as 19.

In reference to a substitute teacher who is “not only very smart but good-looking” one of Melissa’s classmates asked, “Wouldn’t you let a guy like that bang you?” “No. I’d rather rape him,” answered another coed with a laugh. 

Inside the “smoking room” of a palazzo, Roberto, a left-wing activist, instructed Melissa, on her 16th birthday, to perform oral sex on five men: 

“[...] you must draw near, when we tell you, and take it in your mouth until it comes. Five times, Melissa, five. Henceforth we shall no longer speak. Perform your task well.” Melissa wrote: “I returned home full of sperm, my makeup smeared. My mother was waiting for me, asleep on the couch.” 

Melissa Panarello

After perusing the Internet for porn, “I search for everything that simultaneously excites and sickens me.”, Melissa “[...] entered a lesbian chat room.” The next morning she received a message from Letizia, a 20-year-old bi-sexual fellow Catanian. Subsequently, Letizia sent Melissa a nude picture: “[...] her breasts, like two gentle hillocks topped by two large pink circles.”, which caused Melissa to remove her panties, slip beneath the covers, and: “[...] put an end to the sweet torture that Letizia had unwittingly set in motion.” 

At 1:18 P.M., Melissa met 35-year-old Fabrizio, “[...] not quite handsome: tall, robust, thinning salt-and-pepper hair [...]” in the “Perverse Sex” chat room. By 9:00 P.M., Fabrizio, married with a daughter, and Melissa had sex in Fabrizio’s car. “The next time little one, we’ll be more comfortable.”

Melissa searched Il Mercatino for a math tutor. “Only one was available. A [27-year-old] man [...]” “My name is Valerio. Don’t ever call me Professor; you’ll make me feel too old.” After their first meeting, Melissa wrote: “Here I go again, the same old same old. What can I possibly do about it? I can’t avoid arousing someone I find attractive, sitting so close to me [...]” 

After their first tutoring session, they had phone sex. “We touched ourselves while on the phone. My sex was swollen like as never before, and Lethe was flooding the Secret in waves.” At 10:15 he said, “Good night, Lo.” “Good night, Professor.” Subsequently, they had sex on a rock and then in his green car. “On the way home, he told me we better stop seeing each other as teacher and student [...] [because] he never mixes work with pleasure.” However, they returned to that location after the following conversation that took place outside of Melissa’s school as her schoolmates looked on:

“Rape me tonight.”

“No, Lo...it’s risky,” he replied.

“Rape me,” I repeated, at once bossy and wicked.

“Where, Mel[issa]?”

“The place where we went the first time.”

A week later, Letizia and a teen lesbian met Melissa at her school. Subsequently, Letizia and Melissa had sex. Interestingly, using a method that isn’t foreign to lesbians, Melissa fantasized about a man to reach maximum pleasure. Melissa wrote that while Letizia was performing oral sex: “[...] I recalled the invisible little man who used to make love to me in my childhood fantasies [...] It was then that my orgasm arrived, so powerful it had me panting.” 

A review in Oggi (Italy) relates one of the best takeaways from the book: “Melissa has ripped away the veil of hypocrisy that hides the real life of today’s teenagers, a life far different from the platitudes of TV sitcoms.” Oggi (Italy)

Melissa P. (2005) is based on 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed; but, it has been reported that Panarello did not support the film, because the film is too loosely based on her book. And I would concur, because except for a few scenes (e.g., Melissa masturbating in the mirror and at school), the film veers too widely from the book. However, there is a scene in the film that’s not in the book but that’s worth sharing. (See below)

The Met Breuer, Egon Schiele & Nude Teen Watercolors

We went to The Met Breuer to see three Egon Schiele pieces that are exhibited in the Obsession: Nudes by Klimt, Schiele, and Picasso from the Scofield Thayer Collection. 

Here's an excerpt from The Met Breuer's Exhibition Overview:

This exhibition at The Met Breuer presents a selection of some fifty works from The Met's Scofield Thayer Collection—a collection that is best known for paintings by artists of the school of Paris, and a brilliant group of erotic and evocative watercolors, drawings, and prints by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Pablo Picasso, whose subjects, except for a handful, are nudes. The exhibition is the first time these works have been shown together, and provides a focused look at this important collection; it also marks the centenary of the deaths of Klimt and Schiele.

Below are the three Schiele pieces with descriptions from the museum:

Seated Nude Girl Clasping Her Left Knee (1918)

"Here, the young daughter of one of Schiele's models shields her nudity with a pulled-up knee, unlike in the lithograph of Girl (1918) [...]"

Girl (1918)

"The girl leans her head pensively on what might be a pillow, and by opening her legs unselfconsciously reveals her pubic area. Seemingly oblivious to the implication and potential reception of the girl's exposure." ["Seemingly" is probably a fitting word, because there's a chance that the girl was not "oblivious".]

Standing Nude Girl, Facing Left (1918)

"Here, the same daughter of one of Schiele's models appears in three-quarter profile."

To put the three pieces into perspective, it may help to read Jeanette Zwingenberger's description of Schiele's Two Girls (Lovers) (1911) in her book Egon Schiele.

Two Girls (Lovers) (1911) 

Coupled with The Met Breuer's admission that the watercolors are "erotic and evocative" and Zwingenberger's admission that Schiele had an "obsession with all aspects of the erotic", it's very safe to say that The Met Breuer has sided with art, in the art versus [child] pornography debate.

Cody Delistraty wrote in his post "Rethinking Schiele" on The Paris Review :

Egon Schiele first began hosting teenage girls at his studio in Neulengbach, Austria, around 1910 [...] girls, often from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds, would come spend time there with him and his model-slash-lover Walburga Neuzil, whom he called Wally. Schiele was only twenty at the time. Wally was seventeen. The age of consent in Austria was fourteen (as it is today), and their relationship wasn’t much of a scandal. What was a scandal was Schiele’s painting the children and teenagers who came by his studio and, as would be written in his arrest warrant two years later, his “failing to keep erotic nudes in a sufficiently safe place”—that is, exposing these young people to his supposedly pornographic paintings and drawings.

Tatjana Georgette Anna von Mossig (1912)

In April 1912, Schiele was arrested and accused of “seducing” Tatjana Georgette Anna von Mossig. Mossig, a thirteen-year-old girl from Neulengbach whose father was an esteemed naval officer, had asked Schiele and Neuzil to take her to Vienna to live with her grandmother. Like many young people, she wanted to escape her provincial town. The artist and his lover agreed to take her, but once they got to Vienna, Mossig had a change of heart and wanted to return home. The next day, Schiele and Neuzil dutifully returned her. In the meantime, however, her father had gone to the police and filed charges of kidnapping and statutory rape against Schiele. That the young man was an artist—and one who depicted younger women—helped fuel the father’s suspicions. A third charge was leveled, too: public immorality for exposing young people to his art.

When the police came to arrest Schiele, they took around 125 of his drawings, classifying them as “degenerate”; as a symbolic gesture, a judge burned one of them in court. In total, Schiele would spend only twenty-four days in prison after the first two charges—kidnapping and statutory rape—were dropped, but the charges of degeneracy stuck, as they have stuck to his legacy.

Tatjana in Color (2003)

In 2003, Tatjana in Color, a play written by Julia Jordan, was performed at A Culture Project on Bleecker street here in New York City. Jerry Tallmer wrote in his review of the play, "The Egon Schiele affair from the girl’s point of view" in the The Villager: 

The play sweeps us deliciously into her version (and kid sister Antonia’s woozy version) of events leading up to and beyond Schiele’s arrest in April 1912 for the rape of 12-year-old Tatjana, and the trial-by-magistrate that ended with Schiele serving 21 days in prison for corruption of the morals of a minor.