Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were just teenagers when they electrified audiences in the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The film was a hit and was nominated for four Academy Awards. But it also sparked controversy over a bedroom scene that included images of Whiting’s buttocks and Hussey’s bare breasts.
Now in their 70s, Hussey and Whiting filed a lawsuit Friday in Santa Monica Superior Court. Accusing Paramount of sexually exploiting them and distributing nude images of teenage children.
The lawsuit alleges that Zeffirelli — who died in 2019 — assured the two actors that there would be no nudity in the film. And that they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in bedroom scenes. But in the final days of shooting, the director reportedly asked her to perform nude without any body makeup, “or the picture will fail.”
Hussey was 15 and Whiting 16 at the time
Hussey was 15 and Whiting 16 at the time. According to the complaint, Zeffirelli showed them where the camera would be located, and assured them that no nudity would be captured or released on film. The lawsuit alleges that he was being dishonest and actually filmed Whiting and Hussey nude without their knowledge.
“What they were told and what happened were two different things,” said Tony Marinozzi, the actor’s business manager. “They trusted Franco. At 16, as an actor, they guided him so that he would not violate their trust. Franco was their friend, and obviously, 16 At the age of years, what will they have? No choice. There was no #MeToo.
According to the complaint, Hussey and Whiting suffered mental anguish and emotional distress and lost job opportunities in the 55 years since the film’s release. Despite their breakout performances, Hussey and Whiting had very limited acting careers after “Romeo and Juliet.”
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They are seeking damages “estimated to exceed $500 million.”
Stars of Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Sue Over Underage Nudity
“Nude images of minors are illegal and should not be shown,” Solomon Gresen, a lawyer for the actors, said in an interview. “These were very young, naive kids in the ’60s who had no idea what they were going to hit. All of a sudden they became famous on a level they never expected, and besides, they were violated in such a way that they don’t know how to deal with it.”
The lawsuit replies to a California law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations for earlier claims of child sexual abuse. The courts saw a flood of complaints against other organizations. Including the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church, in the days leading up to the Dec. 31 deadline.
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a 2018 interview with Variety, Hussey defended the nudity scene.
“Nobody my age had done that before,” she said, adding that Zeffirelli shot it tastefully. “It was needed for the film.”
In another 2018 interview with Fox News, she said that the scene was “taboo” in America, but that nudity was already common in European films at the time.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” she said. “And Leonard wasn’t shy at all! In the middle of shooting, I just completely forgot I didn’t have clothes on.”
