Romeo and Juliet stars sue over teenage nude scene in 1968 film
Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting – who were just 15 and 16 at the time of filming – are suing Paramount for more than $500 million (£417m).
The stars of the 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet have filed a lawsuit against Paramount over a nude scene in the film.
Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting – who were just 15 and 16 respectively at the time of filming – are suing for more than $500 million (£417m) citing alleged sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and fraud.
They claim the film's Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who passed away in 2019, had given them "no choice but to act in the nude", after having previously assured them that they would be able to wear flesh-coloured underwear during a bedroom scene.
He allegedly told them that "the picture would fail" if they did not meet his demands, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also claims Zeffirelli had told both actors he would shoot the scene in a way that ensured no nudity would appear on screen, an assurance that was not met given the film briefly shows Whiting's bare buttocks and Hussey's bare breasts.
Hussey and Whiting both say they have suffered emotional damage and mental anguish for decades as a result of the scene and the way they were treated, claiming they were sexually exploited and accusing the studio of distributing nude images of adolescent children.
RadioTimes.com has contacted Paramount for comment.
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The lawsuit was filed under a California law that has seen the statute of limitations temporarily suspended for child abuse cases, meaning several lawsuits that could not previously be filed because of time elapsing have now come back under scrutiny.
Romeo and Juliet was a huge success upon its release in 1968, earning nominations for Best Director and Best Picture at the Academy Awards and winning for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, while Hussey and Whiting both won Golden Globe Awards for Most Promising Newcomers.
Hussey had previously commented on the nude scene in a 2018 interview with Variety, saying, "It was needed for the film."
In the same year, she told Fox News: "It wasn't that big of a deal. And Leonard wasn't shy at all! In the middle of shooting, I just completely forgot I didn't have clothes on."
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
