"Romeo and Juliet Filming Sexual Exploitation" Hot Issue 650 Billion Won Lawsuit Dismissed

At the Time of Filming, Ages 15 and 16... "Pressure for Nude Photography"
"Clearly Illegal, No Grounds for Sexual Exploitation Found"

Two actors who starred in the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet filed a lawsuit against the film production company, claiming they were sexually exploited as minors during the filming process, but the local court dismissed the case.

According to foreign media including The New York Times (NYT) on the 25th (local time), actors Olivia Hussey (72) and Leonard Whiting (73) filed a $500 million (approximately 640 billion KRW) lawsuit in 2022 against Paramount Pictures, alleging that director Franco Zeffirelli pressured the underage actors to perform nude scenes by deception during the filming of Romeo and Juliet, and that they suffered sexual harassment and fraud.

Movie poster of 'Romeo and Juliet' (1968). [Photo by Naver Movie]

Judge Mackenzie ruled that the scenes Hussey and Whiting claimed as "sexual abuse" are protected under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of expression.

In the ruling, Judge Mackenzie explained, "No evidence was presented to prove that the scenes were so explicit as to be clearly illegal," and stated that it is difficult to regard the scenes as child sexual exploitation. He added, "This lawsuit does not fall under the scope of the amended California law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations for child sex crimes."

He further cited precedent, stating, "Child pornography is particularly abhorrent, but not all depictions of a child's nudity constitute pornography."

The actors’ legal representatives strongly criticized the court’s dismissal.

Attorney Solomon Gresson said in a statement, "To protect vulnerable individuals in the film industry, we must confront exploitation and gender discrimination against minors within the industry and resolve these issues legally."

He also announced plans to file an appeal and pursue a federal lawsuit regarding the 2023 re-release of Romeo and Juliet.

"Different from what was disclosed and there was coercion" vs "They maintained a good relationship with the director"

A scene from the movie 'Romeo and Juliet' (1968). [Photo by Naver Movie]

At the time of filming, Hussey and Whiting were minors aged 15 and 16, respectively. They claimed that the director initially informed them that the bed scenes in the latter part of the film would be shot with them wearing skin-colored underwear, but just before filming, he changed his statement to say they would be filmed without underwear, with only simple body makeup applied.

They also said, "We were promised that the camera would be positioned so that nudity would not be visible, but in reality, some parts of our bodies were exposed during filming." The film includes scenes where both actors are lying naked on a bed. They revealed that the director pressured them by saying, "If you don’t shoot nude, the film will fail, and your careers will be ruined."

Meanwhile, Pippo Zeffirelli, son of director Franco Zeffirelli, stated in January, "Those scenes are far from pornography."

He said, "My father was known for opposing pornography during his lifetime," and added, "It is very surprising that two elderly actors who gained fame through this film 55 years ago are now making such claims."

He further noted, "Even after filming, they maintained a good relationship with my father and have given multiple interviews expressing happy memories of their globally successful experience."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.