Stars of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet are suing Paramount for $500m ( £414,236,548.15) over a nude scene they filmed when they were only 15 and 16 years old.
On Friday, Olivia Hussey now 71 and Leonard Whiting, 72, filed a lawsuit at Santa Monica Superior Court in California accusing the cooperation of fraud, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The British actors said director Zeffirelli initially informed them there wouldn’t be any nudity in the film.
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Despite this, on the last day of filming, they both claim that the director said the film “would fail” unless they performed a scene together nude while wearing body makeup.
(Image: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
In a statement, business manager Tony Marinozzi who represents the actors said: “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,” he added.
The lawsuit currently alleges the pair were filmed naked without their knowledge and due to this, they are now seeking damages “believed to be in excess of $500 million.”
(Image: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
The lawsuit also claims Zeffirelli showed the actors where the camera would be when they were in the room together but insisted no nudity would be filmed or released.
Due to this, the actors said they felt they “had no choice but to act in the nude with body makeup as demanded on the last day of filming.”
The 1968 film earned Zeffirelli an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and received critical acclaim at the time.
Zeffirelli, who passed away in 2019 also directed the 1990 movie Hamlet and Endless Love in 1981.
(Image: ALESSANDRO DI MEO/EPA-EFE/REX)
According to complaint Hussey and Whiting said the scene caused them both “a lifetime of loss of earnings and other employment benefits and job opportunities,” as well as emotional and physical pain.
The attorney for the pair, Solomon Gresen told Variety that they “were very young naïve children in the ’60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them.”
He added: “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.”
Hussey and Whiting are seeking $500million in damages as it matches the amount the film has made since its release.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
