USA. Sexual harassment on the set of Romeo and Juliet. The actors blame the studio

On December 30, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting filed a lawsuit against Paramout, which they accuse of sexually abusing children, in the Supreme Court in Santa Monica, California. It’s about one of the scenes in the award-winning Oscar adaptation of Shakespeare’s 1968 play Romeo and Juliet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Although the actors were 15 and 16 at the time, they were told to perform naked.

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Variety magazine writes about the content of the lawsuit. In it, Hussey and Whiting argue that although the director of the film promised them that in the nude scene they would not actually have to appear without clothes, but only in appropriate, flesh-colored clothing, during the filming he told them to strip naked. Died in 2019 Zeffirelli he was to claim that otherwise “the pictures would not have worked out”. He was also supposed to ensure that nudity would not be visible in the film, but in the end both underage actors were shown naked on the screen. Hussey and Whiting claim in their lawsuit that the director was unfair to them and they were actually filmed this way without their knowledge.

The couple indicated that they both suffered “mental anguish and emotional distress” for many years after the recording, and that they lost many job opportunities as a result. They are seeking damages in excess of $500 million.

“What they were told and what happened are two different things. They trusted Franco. At the age of 16, they believed that he would not abuse their trust. He was their friend. And what were they supposed to do at that age? There was no other option, no #MeToo,” said Tony Marinozzi, a manager representing both actors. – They were very young, naive children from the 60s who had no idea what was going to happen to them. Suddenly, they became famous on a scale they never expected, and in addition they were violated in a way they couldn’t handle, adds Solomon Gresen, the actors’ lawyer. “Naked pictures of minors are against the law and should not be displayed,” she said.

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However, Variety magazine notes that in two interviews in 2018, Hussey defended the nude scene and said it was “needed for the film” and that the director “shot it with a touch”. The actress also claimed that although the scene was taboo in America, it was already widely shown in European cinemas. “The large team we worked with was reduced to just the most important people (…). It was a closed plan (…). It wasn’t such a big deal, and Leonard wasn’t shy at all. In the middle of the shoot, I almost forgot I wasn’t wearing clothes,” she told Fox News.

The lawsuit comes at the end of a three-year temporary suspension of the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases in California years ago. In the last weeks of 2022, an increase in the number of lawsuits filed in such cases was observed.

The film “Romeo and Juliet” received four Oscar nominations, and eventually won two awards – for best cinematography and costumes.