‘Romeo and Juliet’: Olivia Hassey and Leonard Whiting sue Paramount for child abuse

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, stars of the 1968 film adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” They sued Paramount, the studio in charge of producing the film, for child abuse. Specifically, for a scene in which he is nude from behind and she is frontal.

The actor and actress, who they were 16 and 15 respectively when they made the filmThey explained that the director, Franco Zeffirelli, tricked them into shooting a nude. Hussey and Whiting claim that scene filmed was sexual exploitation and distribution of images of naked minors. The cause explains it Zeffirelli assured them that there would be no nudity in “Romeo and Juliet” and that they would wear skin-colored underwear in the bed scenes., but in the last days of recording, the director allegedly insisted that they perform naked. The statement goes on to say that Zeffirelli showed them where the camera would be placed and told them no nudity would be photographed or depicted in the film. “The defendants lied and secretly recorded nude or partially nude minors without their knowledge.in violation of state and federal laws governing the indecency and commercial exploitation of minors”states the cause.

Hussey and Whiting claim that they have suffered from mental and emotional anguish during the 55 years since the premiere of “Romeo and Juliet” and add that they have lost job opportunities as a result. The damage is said to be worth more than $500 million. At this time, no Paramount representative has spoken on the complaint.

“They Were Little Kids”

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Solomon Green, explained the seriousness of the case: Nude images of minors are illegal and should not be published. They were very naive kids in the 60s who didn’t understand what was coming to them. Suddenly, they’ve become famous to a degree they never expected and, on top of that, they’ve been violated in a way they didn’t know how to deal with.” For his part, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting’s manager, Tony Marinozzi, also spoke about the deception they suffered and how they couldn’t do anything about it: “What they were told and what happened are two different things. They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they thought that what trust they had would not be violated. Franco was a friend of him and, frankly, what do they do at 16? no options“.