Judge throws out "Romeo and Juliet" lawsuit

[BluBonnet]

Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Over 1968 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Nude Scene

A judge on Thursday said she will throw out a lawsuit over a nude scene in the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” after finding that the film is protected by the First Amendment.

The stars of the film, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, filed the suit in December, alleging that they were coerced by director Franco Zeffirelli into performing nude in the film’s bedroom scene. Hussey was 16 at the time of filming; Whiting was 17.

Judge Alison Mackenzie granted Paramount’s motion to throw out the suit, finding that the plaintiffs had not complied with the provisions of a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims.

[Poya]

As they should. Hussey and Whiting just wanted to play victim and make money.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Poya

As they should. Hussey and Whiting just wanted to play victim and make money.

Oh. And I don't suppose there were some greedy lawyers involved?

[Poya]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Oh. And I don't suppose there were some greedy lawyers involved?

Greedy lawyers is a pleonasm.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Poya

Greedy lawyers is a pleonasm.

You should tell that to the ones taking all the pro bono cases for underprivileged folks.

[lupinskitten]

I dunno if the lawyer is any good, but they could argue mental problems resulted from it for Hussey, who became anorexic and afraid to leave her home after shooting ended, or they could sue to have that scene removed from future cuts of the film since both were underage and coerced / did not know any better.

It's sad, what happened to her.

https://www.vulture.com/article/rome...t-lawsuit.html

[Prog5000]

When there is money to be made it appears actors can quickly forget how they spoke about the scene for the last 60 years.

“We shot it at the end of the film. So by that time...we've become one big family. It wasn't that big of a deal. And Leonard wasn't shy at all! In the middle of shooting I just completely forgot I didn't have clothes on."


"Nobody my age had done that before," adding that Zeffirelli shot it tastefully. "It was needed for the film. Everyone thinks they were so young they didn't realize what they were doing. But we were very aware. We both came from drama schools and when you work you take your work very seriously."

Even if the judge hadn’t have thrown it out I believe they would have a hard time convincing anyone of trauma. The lawyer for Paramount would have torn the claims apart.

[Babakazoo]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Over 1968 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Nude Scene

I get why the actors filed the lawsuit, especially considering how young they were at the time, but it seems like the First Amendment protection and the timing with the statute of limitations played a big role here.