Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting in Romeo and JulietPhoto: Larry Ellis (Express/Getty Images)
Earlier this year, the stars of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet filed a lawsuit against Paramount over the underage nudity in the film. Now in their 70s, actresses Olivia Hussey, who played Juliet and Leonard Whiting, Romeo, were 16 and 17 when they appeared nude in Zeffirelli’s Oscar-winning film. They now view their participation in the film’s nude scene as sexually exploitative and pornographic. A California judge disagrees.
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According to Variety, Judge Alison Mackenzie sided with Paramount and agreed to her motion to dismiss the case after finding that the plaintiffs violated the Child Victims Act, an interim law that extends the statute of limitations for sex abuse claims picked up by children. The law, passed in 2019, gave sex abuse survivors a three-year period to file lawsuits over old allegations. However, the judge did not find the allegations of “child pornography” convincing. Ultimately, Judge Mackenzie ruled that the film was protected under the First Amendment.
“The plaintiffs have presented no evidence that the present film can be legally considered sufficiently sexually suggestive to be deemed definitively unlawful,” the judge wrote in his decision. “Plaintiffs’ arguments on this issue are limited to selected language of federal and state statutes, without offering any authority as to the interpretation or application of those statutes to allegedly artistic works such as the award-winning film at issue.”
Hussey and Whiting, who practically quit acting after the film, allege that the late Zeffirelli told his actors that there would be no actual nudity in the film and outfitted them in tan underwear for the scene. However, after the picture was published, their naked bodies became a staple in movie theaters and high school classrooms. One of Shakespeare’s most revered film adaptations, Romeo and Juliet has found its way into many lesson plans.
The scene features a brief shot of 16-year-old Hussey as Juliet rolls over in bed and shows her breasts to the camera. This scene also features Whiting’s bare bottom. The actors’ decorations described shooting the scenes as if going under the covers and simulating intercourse. However, Paramount’s attorneys called her testimony “false and perjury” and “an entirely different scene and sequence of events.” Nevertheless, Solomon Gresen, Hussey and Whiting’s attorney, plans to file a new lawsuit related to the Criterion Collection 4K Blu-ray released last February.