Nearly 55 years after Franco Zeffirelli’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of Romeo & Juliet came out, the film’s then-young stars are now suing Paramount Pictures for more than $100 million for alleged sexual abuse, negligence and more.
“The defendants were dishonest and secretly filmed the nude or partially nude minor children without their knowledge, in violation of state and federal laws governing child sexual abuse and exploitation,” Olivia Hussey’s filing reads Leonard Whiting. “The plaintiffs have suffered and will continue to suffer physical and mental pain, along with extreme and severe mental anguish and emotional distress,” reads the lawsuit (read it here) about the Oscar-nominated film for best picture, the based on William Shakespeare’s classic love story.
In its own Shakespearean drama and estimated the studio has made over $500 million from the Zeffirelli adaptation, Hussey and Whiting are seeking more than $100 million in punitive and exemplary damages. With Encino, Calif.-based attorney Solomon Gresen handling their case, the duo are also addressing “compensatory, economic and non-economic damages pursuant to evidence, as well as the issuance of economic benefit to Paramount.”
Seemingly confusing a December 1967 date for 1968, the year the film was released, the filing details as December 30, 2022:
At the time of filming, Mr. Whiting (Romeo) was a minor child aged 16 and Ms. Hussey was also a minor child aged 15. Plaintiffs were told by Mr. Zeffirelli that no nudity would be filmed or exhibited and that plaintiffs would wear flesh-colored underwear during the bedroom/love scene. However, on the morning of filming the bedroom scene in the second week of December 1968, the very last days of photography, the plaintiffs’ underage plaintiffs were given body make-up and instructed by Mr. Zeffirelli that they must appear nude or the picture would fail. Millions have been invested. They would never work in any profession again, let alone in Hollywood. Zeffirelli showed them where the cameras would be set so that no nudity would be filmed or photographed for use in Romeo & Juliet or elsewhere. The plaintiffs believed they had no choice but to appear nude with body makeup, as was requested during the final days of filming.
Paramount did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on the seven-claims lawsuit.
Zeffirelli, who has been the subject of sexual harassment and assault in the past, died in 2019 and is not a defendant in this lawsuit.
Romeo & Juliet drew attention at the time for the nudity in the film and was a box office hit when it was released in March 1968. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won trophies for Best Cinematography and Costume Design. Both Whiting and Hussey won Golden Globes for their performances.
As recently as 2018, Hussey spoke out about the need for nudity in film. In the midst of promoting her then-just-released memoir, she told Fox News that the nudity “isn’t such a big deal.” The Jesus of Nazareth veteran also noted in another interview that same year that, although young, she and Whiting were both theater vets and “we were very aware.”
Apparently, she and Whiting now take a different stance on the subject.
“It took great courage for both Olivia and Leonard to address the sexploitation/sexualization (of minors) that was happening then and sadly continues to permeate our society today,” the duo’s manager Tony Marinozzi told Deadline Today about the lawsuit. “The #MeToo movement and other similar support groups have provided a platform for Olivia and Leonard to finally hold them accountable for these abuses.”
Marinozzi has been Hussey’s manager since October 2020 and has worked with Whiting, now 72, since February 2022.
The timing of the filing late last week in Los Angeles Superior Court came just hours before the December 31 expiration of the nearly three-year extension to California’s lifting of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims.