Olivia Hussey, aged 71, and Leonard Whiting, aged 72, the stars of the 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli, have taken legal action against Paramount Pictures.
Stars Of Romeo And Juliet Sue Paramount For $500m Claiming They Were Forced To Perform A Nude Scene
The two British actors have submitted a lawsuit to the Santa Monica Superior Court in California, claiming sexual harassment, fraud, sexual abuse, and infliction of emotional distress. They allege that Zeffirelli initially promised them that there would be no nudity in the movie, while they were just 15 and 16 years old when they filmed the nude scene.
On the final day of shooting the movie, the crew asserts that he declared the motion picture would not be successful unless they acted out a scene in the nude while wearing body paint. A business manager on behalf of the pair confirmed as much: “What they were told and what went on were two different things.
“They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took his lead that he would not violate that trust they had. Franco was their friend, and frankly, at 16, what do they do? There are no options. There was no #MeToo.”
The legal case claims that Zeffirelli revealed to the performers the spot where the camera would be situated, however, he assured them that no nudity would be shot or shared.
Hussey and Whiting felt constrained to take off their clothes and apply body makeup on the last day of filming. The film was praised highly when it was released and earned Zeffirelli an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, but he has passed away since then.
The response on social media was one of outrage. A certain subset of people demanded that the two actors be compensated in some way since their rights had been violated. One person wrote: “Best wishes to them, hoping their legal action is both successful and goes some way to compensating them.”
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