Shockwaves as Romeo and Juliet stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey bring legal case against Paramount Pictures over alleged sexual abuse.
The English actors, now in their 70s, are claiming director Franco Zeffirelli encouraged them to do nude scenes during the making of the Oscar-winning 1968 movie, despite previous assurances they wouldn’t have to.
Paramount Pictures have yet to give a public statement on the shocking accusation.
Two stars have accused a late Italian director of duping them into appearing nude in one of his films – and now they’re demanding a whopping $500 million in damages.
The actors allege that Franco Zeffirelli initially told them they would be wearing flesh-colored underwear during the bedroom scene, only to spring a “nudity surprise” on them on the day of the shoot.
They claim he assured them the camera would be positioned to not show anything – but now they’re out for justice!
At the time of shooting Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film ‘Romeo and Juliet’, actors Linda Whiting and Paul Hussey were just teenagers.
According to their lawsuit, Zeffirelli threatened the two with their careers being damaged if they didn’t agree to act in the nude, with their bare buttocks and breasts briefly shown in the final film.
Now aged 72 and 71 respectively, Whiting and Hussey have filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, accusing the studio of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and fraud for distributing nude images of adolescent children.
A lawsuit has been filed in Santa Monica Superior Court on Friday by Whiting and Hussey, who claim to have suffered emotional and mental anguish for decades after being mistreated during the making of a famous film.
The movie in question was a successful adaptation of a Shakespeare play, which was nominated for four Oscars, winning two for cinematography and costume design. The filing of the lawsuit is made possible by a California law which, due to the suspension of the statute of limitations, enables survivors of child sex abuse to file legal action.
This suspension has been the catalyst for a wave of lawsuits and the revival of many previously dismissed cases.
“What they were told and what went on were two different things,” Tony Marinozzi, a business manager for the two actors, said.
“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.”
Solomon Gresen, a lawyer for the pair, added in a statement: “Nude images of minors are unlawful and shouldn’t be exhibited.
“These were very young, naive children in the 60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them.
“All of a sudden they were famous at a level they never expected, and in addition they were violated in a way they didn’t know how to deal with.”