Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is at the center of a lawsuit from the film’s leads. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting have sued Paramount Pictures for sexual exploitation and child abuse over the use of nudity in the film, which was filmed when they were 15 and 16, respectively. According to Variety, they are seeking more than $500 million in damages.
In the film, Romeo and Juliet are briefly shown partially nude on their wedding night. In the lawsuit, Hussey and Whiting, now 71 and 72, allege their consent was violated by Zeffirelli, who died in 2019.
The complaint alleges that the director made a last-minute decision to scrap the flesh-colored cover-up, which actors were told they could wear while filming the bedroom scene. Zeffirelli claimed the “picture would fail” if the pair didn’t appear nude, and reportedly encouraged her to use body makeup instead. Whiting was shot from behind while Hussey was included in front-facing footage with her breasts exposed.
Additionally, Hussey and Whiting claim that Zeffirelli showed them where the camera would be placed while filming the scene to reassure them that they would not actually be filmed nude. But Zeffirelli is said to have misled the couple who claim they were filmed nude without their knowledge.
“What they were told and what happened were two different things,” Tony Marinozzi, who serves as the business manager for both Hussey and Whiting, shared in a statement to Variety. “They trusted Franco. At 16, as an actor, they took his lead that he would not violate that trust they had. Franco was her boyfriend, and honestly what do you do when you’re 16? There are no options. There was no #MeToo.”
In a separate interview, Solomon Gresen, an attorney for Hussey and Whiting, explained: “These were very young, naïve kids in the ’60s who didn’t understand what was about to hit them. All of a sudden, they were famous on a level they never expected, plus they were being abused in ways they didn’t know how to handle.”
Editors Favorites
Paramount officials did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
The lawsuit alleges that the two actors suffered significant emotional distress and anguish in connection with the film; They also claim that this caused them both to miss opportunities to further their acting careers despite the film’s success. Zeffirelli’s version of the classic Shakespearean play was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, while also being nominated for Best Director. The film eventually won two Oscars, one for best cinematography and one for best costume design.
Though the nude scenes caused controversy when the film was released, Hussey brushed it off in a 2018 interview with Variety to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Romeo and Juliet. “Nobody my age has ever done that. It was needed for the film,” she said at the time.
Around the same time, she reiterated the point to Fox News. “Leonard wasn’t shy at all,” she said. “During filming, I completely forgot I wasn’t wearing any clothes.”
Trending
In January 2020, the statute of limitations on civil claims alleging child sexual assault in California was suspended for three calendar years. The Romeo and Juliet lawsuit against Paramount was filed just before the December 31, 2022 deadline, in which survivors of childhood sexual assault, regardless of age, can file a civil abuse claim.
Now that the statute of limitations has been reinstated, survivors must file their complaints before they turn 40, or within five years of the date they discover the harm caused by the alleged childhood sexual assault — or within reason should have discovered discretion.