Status: 01/04/2023 12:23 p.m
As the “Romeo and Juliet” leading actor, they received the Golden Globe for their performance. More than 50 years later, two actors are demanding millions in damages.
Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting are suing the production company Paramount Pictures over a nude scene, more than 50 years after the release of the film “Romeo and Juliet” by star director Franco Zeffirelli. They are seeking more than $500 million in damages. They base their lawsuit in a Los Angeles court on allegations of sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud. The lawsuit was filed under a California law temporarily suspending the statute of limitations for alleged child abuse. In the course of the measure, there were some new lawsuits.
Hussey and Whiting were teenagers when the film was made. She was 15 and he was 16. In the lawsuit, they allege that they were filmed naked during the shoot without their knowledge. This violated laws against the exploitation of children.
The two film stars Whiting (right), Hussey and director Zeffirelli (right) at the film premiere in 1986.
Image: AP
At first, director Zeffirelli told the teenagers that they would wear skin-colored underwear when filming the nude scene. But on the day of the shoot, he informed them that they would only get body make-up, but that the camera would be set up so that no naked spots could be seen. The scene briefly shows Hussey’s breasts and Whiting’s buttocks.
Stars would have suffered for decades
Director Zeffirelli told Hussey and Whiting at the time that they had to complete the scene naked or the film would not be a success, the lawsuit states. Hussey and Whiting would have thought they had to follow the guidelines. In the lawsuit, Hussey and Whiting argue they experienced mental distress for decades. Given the pain and revenue from the film, the actors would be entitled to more than $500 million in compensation. However, Zeffirelli died in 2019.
Hussey, now 71, defended the nude scene in a 2018 Variety interview. “Nobody my age had done that before,” she said. Zeffirelli designed the scene tastefully. “She was necessary for the film.”