Pippo Zeffirelli, the son of the renowned Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, is extremely disgruntled with the lawsuit that Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, the actors from “Romeo and Juliet”, have filed for a whopping amount of $500 million.
Director’s Son Blasts $500 Million Lawsuit Alleging Forced Nudity In ‘Romeo and Juliet’-‘It Is Embarrassing’
The two claim that as teenagers, they were forced to do nude scenes under the guidance of Franco Zeffirelli. In his comments, Pippo said: “It is embarrassing to hear that today, 55 years after filming, two elderly actors who owe their notoriety essentially to this film wake up to declare that they have suffered an abuse that has caused them years of anxiety and emotional discomfort.”
Whiting and Hussey, aged 72 and 71 respectively, took legal action against Paramount Pictures, accusing them of sexual mistreatment, sexual harassment and deception when a nude scene was integrated into the 1968 film.
At the moment, Whiting, 16 and Hussey, 15 state that Zeffirelli promised them that their bodies would be hidden by flesh-coloured clothing and camera framing, however, afterwards during the shooting of the scene, Zeffirelli reportedly declared that their nudity was necessary or else the movie ‘would fail.’
According to Variety, Tony Marinozzi, who is the business manager for both actors, stated that the celebrities were facing a challenging predicament. In his comments at the time, Tony remarked: “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 fans on social media bashed the claims that were being made by the actors.
This was on the basis that the timing of the lawsuit was very problematic since it came a long while after the incident. One person wrote: “What a joke….55 years later. This should be thrown out instantly.”
So there you have it folks. What did you think about this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. If you liked reading this article, then check out our other features on the Daily Soap Dish.
