This article contains mentions of sexual assault, unclear consent and sexual exploitation.

Leading up to my viewing of “Saltburn” (2023), my “For You” feed on TikTok was inundated with videos about how sexy and iconic the film was. My boyfriend and I would send videos back and forth that were joking about the sex and fetish scenes being nothing outlandish and actually quite hot. We discussed the TikToks that talked about how people were overreacting by saying that the sex and fetish scenes were disturbing, especially if you grew up reading Archive of Our Own. 

So, my boyfriend and I went into “Saltburn” expecting a fun and sexy romance drama movie about a college-aged man who falls in love with his rich classmate and spends the summer partying at his classmate’s large estate. That, however, was not the movie we watched. “Saltburn” is actually a quite disturbing movie about a student at the University of Oxford, Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), who manipulates his classmate Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) into inviting him to his estate so that he can (spoilers ahead) eliminate the entire Catton family in order to take their fortune as his own. 

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Arguably, the most talked about scene of “Saltburn” on TikTok is the infamous bathtub scene. The bathtub scene starts with Oliver watching Felix take a bath in their shared bathroom. Felix is completely unaware and unconsenting of Oliver watching him bathe in this scene, and yet Oliver continues to watch Felix without his knowledge. As the scene progresses, it is heavily implied that Felix is jacking off while in the bathtub, which makes Oliver’s already creepy and invasive staring into an even weirder peeping Tom situation. 

As soon as Felix leaves, Oliver takes this opportunity to drink Felix’s now semen-filled bathwater. This fetish act is done completely without Felix’s knowledge or consent, which is undoubtedly a form of sexual exploitation. 

People on TikTok exclaimed that they thought Oliver drinking Felix’s bathwater was unbelievably sexy and something that should be strived for. But this scene is not a sexual scene that should be romanticized or idealized by anyone, especially not by the high school and college-aged users on TikTok. In this scene, Oliver very blatantly disrespects Felix’s consent and sexually exploits him and, in turn, commits an illegal act. 

Another scene that has been largely romanticized and sexualized by TikTok is when Oliver sneaks into Farleigh’s room at night to threaten him while also “seducing him.” This “seduction,” however, has very dubious consent, where it is unclear if Farleigh has consented to the sex acts taking place. While there is no outright “no” or “yes” given in the scene in regards to Farleigh consenting to what Oliver does to him, the tone of the scene conveys that these sex acts aren’t entirely consensual. 

Again, people all over my “For You” feed discussed how hot they thought the scene was or how turned-on the scene made them. This appalled me, as this scene does not have clear, informed consent present within the interactions between Oliver and Farleigh. Because of this ambiguity, viewers should find this scene off-putting and should not discuss this scene as if it is the pinnacle of sexiness and fetish sex goals. 

The final and most disturbing sexual scene in “Saltburn” is when Oliver fucks Felix’s grave after his funeral. This scene is particularly disturbing not only because of its necrophilic imagery, but also because of Felix’s hatred for Oliver before his passing. Felix learned before his death that everything he knew about Oliver was a lie and because of that, he asked Oliver to leave the Saltburn estate after the extravagant party the Cattons had planned for Oliver’s birthday.

Even with the knowledge that Felix hated his guts at the time of his death, Oliver defiles Felix’s grave after his funeral. And yet again, many TikTok users went on to share how hot this was and that Oliver was “so real” for fucking Felix’s grave. To me, this was absolutely appalling to view, as this act was a clear disregard of Felix’s consent and should never be romanticized or idealized. This act was a clear debasement of Felix’s grave and should be treated as the vile act that it was — regardless of how hot fans think Barry Keoghan is. 

The knowledge that many young people getting into their first relationship might idealize these scenes worries me, as this movie is not an example of a healthy relationship. Oliver constantly disrespects the boundaries of the people around him, forcing his will onto others. Young people should instead be idolizing healthy and consensual relationships in media instead of the toxic relationships of “Saltburn.”