'Romeo And Juliet' Actors Sue Paramount, Seek $500M In Damages: Here's Why

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who played star-crossed lovers in "Romeo And Juliet," are suing Paramount Pictures over a short nude scene in the 1968 blockbuster film.

Hussey, 71, and Whiting, 72, filed a lawsuit in California's Santa Monica Superior Court on Friday accusing the film studio of sexual exploitation and distributing nude images of adolescent children.

Hussey was only 15 when she played the role of the lovestruck Juliet opposite Whiting's Romeo, who was then 17. The film was received well and got four Academy Awards nominations — it won the award for best cinematography. The pair also won Golden Globes for their performances.

In one intimate scene, Whiting's buttocks and Hussey's bare breasts were briefly shown on camera. The lawsuit said director Franco Zeffirelli, who died in 2019, persuaded the teenagers into performing the scene and told them that without it "the picture would fail." Initially, Zeffirelli allegedly promised the young actors there would be no actual nudity and that they would be covered by flesh-colored underwear.

The director reportedly briefed the teenage actors about where the camera would be positioned and that no nudity would be photographed or shown in the film. But he was being dishonest as Hussey and Whiting were filmed nude without their consent, the suit alleged.

"What they were told and what went on were two different things," Tony Marinozzi, Hussey and Whiting's business manager, told Variety. "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."

The pair, who are claiming damages "believed to be in excess of $500 million," claimed they suffered mental anguish and emotional distress since the film's release 55 years ago. They also said they lost many acting opportunities despite the popularity of the film.

"Nude images of minors are unlawful and shouldn't be exhibited," Solomon Gresen, the actors' lawyer, said. "These were very young naive children in the '60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them. All of a sudden they were famous at a level they never expected, and in addition they were violated in a way they didn't know how to deal with."

The lawsuit came a day before the temporary suspension of California's statutes of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases was lifted on Dec. 31. A change in state law in 2020 gave way to thousands of lawsuits alleging abuses as far back as the 1940s. The three-year window gave adults more time to file lawsuits over childhood sexual abuse.

Back in 2018, Hussey said she believed the nude shot was "needed for the film."

"Nobody my age had done that before," she told Variety, adding that Zeffirelli shot it artistically.