Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, the stars of Franco Zeffirelli’s landmark 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet, have taken legal action against Paramount, accusing the studio of sexual abuse for pressuring the then-teenage actors to film a bedroom scene nude, according to a Variety report. The film was a critical success and went on to earn four Academy Award nominations despite the underage nudity — Hussey was 15 and Whiting was 16 when the movie was filmed — that stirred controversy after its release. The actors filed the suit on December 30, 2022, in Santa Monica Superior Court, claiming Paramount had sexually exploited and distributed nude images of them as children. According to the report, they are seeking damages “believed to be in excess of $500 million.â€
“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.â€
Hussey and Whiting accuse Zeffirelli, the late film’s director, of asking them to perform nude despite earlier assurances that they would wear flesh-colored garments in the sex scene and that there would be no nudity shown onscreen. The filing alleges that the director deceived the Romeo and Juliet actors by pressuring them to perform nude with body makeup in the final days of production, saying the “picture would fail†otherwise. Worse, the actors accuse Zeffirelli of filming them nude without their knowledge or consent and proceeding to include the scenes in the final cut. The complaint argues that the actors have lost out on job opportunities and suffered mental and emotional distress since the film’s release.