One of my favorite movies that I would catch every now and again on tv was the 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The music and theatrics are amazing.
But now the stars of that film are suing Paramount for $500 million for being forced to be nude and engage in sex scenes at the age of 15 and 16.
Olivia Hussey, 71, and Leonard Whiting, 72, filed a lawsuit Friday in Santa Monica Superior Court in California accusing Paramount Pictures of sexual harassment, fraud, sexual abuse, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Hussey and Whiting, both British, say Zeffirelli originally told them there would not be any nudity in the film.
However, on the last day of filming, they claim he said the film ‘would fail’ unless they performed a scene nude while wearing body makeup.
‘What they were told and what went on were two different things,’ said Tony Marinozzi, a business manager for the actors, in a statement.
‘They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took his lead that he would not violate that trust they had,’ the manager said.
‘Franco was their friend, and frankly, at 16, what do they do?’ Marinozzi added in a statement to the outlet. ‘There are no options. There was no #MeToo.’
This should be interesting.
