Nude scene in 1968 Romeo and Juliet gets Paramount a $100 million sexual abuse lawsuit

The lead stars of the revolutionary 1968 hit Romeo and Juliet have accused the studio of sexual abuse and negligence for pressuring them into an underage nude scene for the Shakespearean adaptation.

Romeo & Juliet was a box office smash when it came out in March 1968. Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, the movie won Oscars for Cinematography and Costume Design. 

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, the adaptation caused quite a stir upon its release due to a brief nude scene involving the two young leads, played by Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. The bedroom scene featured Hussey’s bare breasts and Whiting’s bare buttocks, when they were 15 and 16 respectively. While the scene in question lasts only a few seconds, it was enough to generate significant controversy and media attention.

One of the main points of contention surrounding the nude scene was its appropriateness for a film that was intended to be a family-friendly adaptation of Shakespeare's classic play. Many critics and audience members felt that the inclusion of the scene was gratuitous and detracted from the overall quality of the film. They argued that the scene served no real purpose and was included solely for the purpose of titillation.

Others defended the scene, arguing that it was a necessary and integral part of the film's portrayal of the passionate and intense love between Romeo and Juliet. They pointed out that the scene was brief and tastefully done, and that it helped to convey the depth of emotion between the two characters.

The controversy surrounding the nudity in the film was further exacerbated by the fact that the film was released at a time when attitudes towards sexuality and nudity in the media were beginning to change. In the late 1960s, there was a growing movement towards greater openness and acceptance of sexual themes in art and entertainment, and some saw the nude scene in Romeo and Juliet as part of this trend.

Hussey and Whiting allege that late filmmaker Zeffirelli forced them to perform in the nude despite having promised that they would wear flesh-colored clothing in the sex scene and that nudity would not be depicted on screen. 

According to the complaint, the director tricked the performers by telling them the "picture would collapse" if they didn't perform in nude with body makeup during the last days of filming. Since the film's premiere, the lead stars have allegedly lost out on job chances and experienced mental and emotional hardship.

The Italian director was also accused of sexual assault by several young men. In January of 2018, actor Jonathan Schaech became one of Hollywood’s few male #MeToo accusers when he detailed alleged encounters with Zeffirelli claiming that the director had sexually assaulted him while they were working on a film together. In the following years, several other young men came forward with similar allegations against Zeffirelli. 

Though the subject of sexual harassment and sexual assault claims in the past, Zeffirelli died in 2019 and hence is not a defendant in the new Romeo and Juliet lawsuit.

Now in their 70s, Hussey and Whiting filed a lawsuit in Santa Monica Superior Court on Friday, December 30, 2022, accusing Paramount of sexually exploiting them.