TWIST ENDING

‘Romeo and Juliet’ Stars Sue Studio for Child Abuse Over Decades-Old Nude Scene

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting have sued Paramount, saying they were pressured to film a nude scene as teenagers in ‘Romeo and Juliet.’

The stars of the 1968 film ‘Romeo and Juliet’ are suing Paramount Pictures for child abuse, accusing the director of pressuring them into filming a nude scene while both actors were teenagers. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting allege in their lawsuit that director Franco Zeffirelli—who died in 2019— initially told them there’d be no nudity. But during production, he allegedly pushed both to perform naked in the final film, which exposed Whiting’s butt and Hussey’s breasts. Hussey, then 15, and Whiting. then 16, were both underage during filming, and the lawsuit further argues that both were told the camera wouldn’t capture them naked. In 2018, Hussey defended the scene in an interview with Variety. The lawsuit, which was filed thanks to a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for claims of child abuse, says the actors have faced mental anguish in the years since filming and are seeking damages “believed to be in excess of $500 million.”