Stars of 1968 film ‘Romeo & Juliet’ sue studio for child sexual abuse over nude scene

The stars of the 1968 movie “Romeo & Juliet” have submitted a lawsuit in Los Angeles County accusing Paramount Pictures of sexually abusing them by filming their nude bodies without their knowledge when they were children.

Leonard Whiting, who played Romeo Montague when he was 16, and Olivia Hussey, who played Juliet Capulet when she was 15, are suing the studio giant for sexual harassment, negligence, intentional tort, fraud, appropriation of name and likeness, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair business practices and child sexual abuse. The lawsuit, submitted Friday, has yet to be officially filed in L.A. Superior Court.

Directed by Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, the 1968 adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” features a controversial bedroom scene in which Whiting’s bare buttocks and Hussey’s bare breasts are visible.

Per court documents reviewed by The Times, the onscreen lovers claim they were coerced into filming the sequence nude after Zeffirelli initially assured them that “there would be no nudity filmed or exhibited, and that [they] would be wearing flesh colored undergarments during the bedroom/love scene.”

Whiting and Hussey allege that, on the morning of the bedroom shoot, Zeffirelli told them that “they must act in the nude or the Picture would fail” — adding that “millions were invested” in the project and that “they would never work again in any profession, let alone Hollywood” if they didn’t comply. The child actors were allegedly covered with nude body makeup and “believed they had no choice but to act in the nude ... as demanded.”

The complaint also notes that Zeffirelli, who died at age 96 in 2019, allegedly showed Whiting and Hussey “where the cameras would be set so that no nudity would be filmed or photographed for use in Romeo & Juliet or anywhere else.” The co-stars argue that the studio either knew or “should have known” that images of their nude bodies “were secretly and unlawfully obtained ... for later use by Paramount and others.”

As a result of Zeffirelli’s and Paramount’s alleged transgressions, Whiting and Hussey say they have suffered physical pain, severe mental anguish and emotional distress, as well as “a lifetime loss” of earnings, employment benefits and job opportunities. They are seeking general, compensatory and punitive economic and noneconomic damages “believed to be in excess” of $500 million.

“Paramount ... authorized, condoned and/or ratified the unlawful conduct by ... repackaging what is essentially pornography and evidence of a crime and then reselling that poisonous product for profit over the objections of Mr. Whiting and Ms. Hussey since 1968,” the lawsuit alleges.

“The knowing and repeated use of sexual images of minor children is the worst of behaviors in our society and must be eradicated.”

Leonard Whiting, left, and Olivia Hussey attend a 2018 screening of “The Producers” in Los Angeles.

(Willy Sanjuan / Invision/AP)

“Romeo & Juliet” received Academy Award nominations in 1969 for cinematography, costume design, director and best picture. It won for cinematography and costume design.

The lawsuit cites a California law enacted in 2020 that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. Because people over the age of 40 are no longer allowed to sue for child sexual abuse in California as of Jan. 1, 2023, the state received a deluge of complaints leading up to the Dec. 31, 2022, filing deadline.

Paramount did not respond to The Times’ multiple requests for comment.

Last month, Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins reflected on performing nude together as teenagers in the 1980 film “The Blue Lagoon.” Shields, who was 14 at the time of filming, remarked that a movie like Randal Kleiser‘s period drama would “never” be made today.

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“Oh gosh, no,” Atkins agreed on a recent episode of Shields’ “Now What?” podcast. “Animals were hurt in the movie. We were spearing fish and all kinds of crazy things. Children are naked running down a beach — just couldn’t do that now.”

Shields also recalled wearing “little strips of clothing” or having her hair taped down “to cover the boobs, which were very minimal anyway.”

“I don’t know what I was trying to cover,” she quipped as Atkins laughed. “They would stick these little sticky, flesh-colored things on my nipple — because nipple was evidently where they drew the line in this movie, which is ironic.”