'Romeo & Juliet' stars sue Paramount for FORCING them to do nude scene despite them being just 16
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting received widespread acclaim and international recognition for their performance in Franco Zeffirelli's 'Romeo & Juliet' in the 1968 live adaptation. However, after almost 50 years the actors filed a lawsuit in Santa Monica Superior Court on Friday, against Paramount accusing the production company of sexually exploiting them and distributing nude images of adolescent children.
Although the 1968's movie was a massive hit and received four Academy Awards nominations, it also stirred enough controversies over a bedroom scene that included images of Whiting’s buttocks and Hussey’s bare breasts. Furthermore, at the time of the 1968 movie, Hussey was 15 and Whiting was 16 which didn't stop both of them from winning the Golden Globe Awards for Most Promising Newcomers. Regardless of the controversies, the drama genre movie won the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (Pasqualino De Santis) and Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati).
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According to People, the suit alleges that Zeffirelli, who died in 2019 - assured both actors that there would be no nudity in the film and that they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in the bedroom scene. But in the final days of filming, the director allegedly entreated them to perform in the nude with body makeup, “or the film would fail.”
According to the complaint, Hussey and Whiting also allege that Zeffirelli misrepresented where the camera would be and filmed them naked without their knowledge. The finished film included images of Hussey's breasts and Whiting's buttocks. Furthermore, what's also mentioned in the complaint is Hussey and Whiting have suffered mental anguish and emotional distress in the 55 years since the film’s release, and have also lost out on job opportunities. Regardless of their breakout performances, Hussey and Whiting had only very limited acting careers after 'Romeo and Juliet'. They are seeking damages “believed to be in excess of 500 million dollars.”
"What they were told and what went on were two different things," Tony Marinozzi, a business manager for both actors, told Variety. "They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took his lead so that he would not violate the trust they had. Franco was their friend, and frankly, at 16, what do they do? There are no options. There was no #MeToo." Furthermore, Solomon Gresen, an attorney for Whiting and Hussey, told the outlet, "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."
However, Franco Zeffirelli's 'Romeo & Juliet' in 1968 is considered to be the most financially successful film adaptation of a Shakespeare play at the time of its release, it was popular among teenagers partly because it was the first film to use actors who were close to the age of the characters from the original play. Several critics also welcomed the film enthusiastically. It also won many accolades and nominations.