Prima Nocta Joke in Avengers: Age of Ultron Is Even Creepier Now

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Avengers: Age of Ultron featured a distasteful joke about “prima nocta,” which refers to a medieval law allowing nobles to have non-consensual sex with women on their wedding night. The joke became even more controversial due to director Joss Whedon’s involvement and his history of inappropriate behavior and abuse allegations. The incident highlights the need for studios to vet scripts to avoid crass and offensive jokes, especially those promoting misogyny and sexual violence.

In the build-up to 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel Studios faced a PR problem when Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner had to apologize for making derogatory jokes about Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. Renner laughingly called her a “slut” in an interview, while Evans deemed her a “whore,” drawing criticism for what was viewed as sexist, misogynistic behavior. They were forgiven. However, the film featured an even more distasteful moment in an extended scene when…