Spike Lee on TV's 'She's Gotta Have It'

Director Spike Lee, 60, was just 29 in 1986 when he released his 86-minute debut film She’s Gotta Have It, the story of sex-loving, nonmonogamous Brooklyn artist Nola Darling, who juggles three boyfriends at the same time. It now has morphed into a 10-episode Netflix series — Lee’s TV first — premiering Nov. 23. If the film debuted today it might’ve been his last because its notorious rape scene would be ruthlessly scrutinized in light of the nation’s sex-harassment scandals. But Lee tells AARP that he has done the story right this time, thanks to the love — and smarts — of a good woman.

You made She’s Gotta Have It for $175,000 at 29. Have you learned anything since?

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If I’ve not learned something between 1986 and 2017, I must be a true idiot. In 1986 I wasn’t a husband or father, and I think I’ve gotten much more mature in politics. People ask, is there one thing you would take back? My answer is, the rape scene.

But it did occur in a context of making fun of hypocritical guys who behave like dogs but can’t stand an independent ...

Yeah, but-but-but. There’s no excuse for that rape!

But ...

No buts! There ain’t no rape in this show.

I’m not defending it, just the idea of exploring sex roles. Except for that one screwup …

That’s a big screwup!

… the film anticipated some of today’s female free spirits on Girls or Scandal. Now you redo the story with the wisdom of age, more skill and your executive producer-wife Tonya Lewis Lee’s input.

It was my wife’s idea to do the show. Now is the time to revisit it. With Netflix and Amazon and everybody, there’s room to do stuff that cable and network TV don’t. Not even movies. She watches TV; I don’t, except for sports. She has been very impactful on my portrayal of women. She will pull my coattails.

Are there more Nola Darlings today?

Oh, there are way more than back in the day, but women like Nola are still ahead of their time.

Some feminists complained that Nola was a guy imagining himself into a woman’s head.

It was the opposite, about how men thought about women, not how Nola thought about the men. She was living her life sexually as they do, and they have a problem with it.