Did This Judge Approve Underage Nudity? ROMEO AND JULIET Case Dismissed Again
Movieguide® Contributor
Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting claimed that when they were minors, they were coerced into appearing nude on camera in ROMEO AND JULIET. Now courts have dismissed their case for the second time.
“A judge on Monday dismissed a second lawsuit over the bedroom scene in the 1968 version of ROMEO AND JULIET, finding that the lead actors consented to their appearance in the film,” Variety reported Oct. 21.
“The actors began seeking recompense last year for being forced to shoot scenes in the nude while underage. Throughout the movie’s productions, the director, Franco Zefferielli, told them they would be shooting in skin-colored body suits. However, this was changed to body makeup when the time for shooting the nude scene came. They were told the movie would fail if they did not shoot the scene in the nude.”
READ MORE: ROMEO AND JULIET STARS FILE NEW LAWSUIT OVER MOVIE’S NUDITY
At the time of filming, Hussey was 16 and Whiting was 17.
“The original lawsuit was thrown out in May 2023, partly on statute of limitations grounds. The actors filed a new lawsuit in February 2024, arguing that the 2023 Criterion re-release, with a digital restoration, triggered a new statute of limitations,” Variety reported.
The actors claimed that the new version enhanced the details of the nude scene, describing in detail how Hussey’s specific body parts were rendered to be more graphic.
However, Judge Holly J. Fujie found the re-release wasn’t enough to undo the prior decision on the case.
“A comparison of the 2023 release with the prior versions shows no significant visible improvement in the film, particularly in the Bedroom Scene, to the naked eye,” the judge said.
“In a declaration to the court signed in July, Hussey said she considered the scene ‘sexual abuse of minors’ and ‘child pornography.’ She also said she believed Paramount ‘engineered’ the Blu-ray release ‘to embarrass [her] in retaliation’ for her participation in the prior lawsuit,” Rolling Stone reported.
In the movie, Hussey’s bare breasts are shown, and Whiting’s bare buttocks can be seen. According to the original lawsuit’s judge, Alison Mackenzie, this is not “sexually suggestive” enough to be child pornography.
She might think differently if she had a 16- or 17-year-old son or daughter in that position.
“In her ruling, Fujie noted that the producers had contracts with both actors, indicating that they consented to participate in the film,” Variety said.
“Even in the absence of express consent, however, Plaintiffs’ subsequent conduct in the decades that followed since the Film’s original 1968 release speaks to Plaintiffs’ implied ratification and approval of the Film, including the Bedroom Scene,” the judge said. “This includes, among others, appearances and statements made by Plaintiffs during interviews and attendance at film festivals, during which Plaintiffs did not object to the continuing release and distribution of the successive releases of the Film.”
Hussey and Whiting were paid only $2,200 each for their performance in the movie.
“Everyone says, ‘You must be so well off — you were in a classic,’” Hussey said. “And we say, ‘No, we didn’t get paid for that.’ We got minimum. We were always broke. I felt exploited, really. Looking back on all of that, Leonard and I, we felt exploited throughout.”
Hussey and Whiting openly defended the nude scenes in interviews following the movie’s premiere, but Hussey says they weren’t being honest.
“We’d say, ‘Oh, it was art. Everybody does nudity — no big deal,’” she said. “But really, deep down, my mom knew and my close friends knew it was traumatic. It wasn’t something I ever agreed to do. I just did it because I felt like I couldn’t say no. Leonard too.”
Hussey said her mother only found out about the scene after the movie had finished filming.
Whiting said he wasn’t “mentally prepared” for the scene and had a “very uncomfortable experience.
“I believe the scene didn’t require nudity, due to the fact that we were both underage,” he said. “Olivia was very, very nervous and frightened as well, but we really were very fond of each other and we helped each other get through the whole thing.”
Though the responsibility for the scene largely falls under the director, who passed away in 2019, the actors harbored no ill will toward him.
“It’s totally wrong to think there’s a problem between Olivia and I and Franco,” he said. “That’s absolute nonsense.”
“Paramount moved to throw out the lawsuit under the California anti-SLAPP statute, which protects First Amendment expression from frivolous suits,” Variety reported. “In the motion, the studio’s lawyers noted that in 2018 Whiting had written to then-CEO James Gianopulos to say his contract was unfair and to request additional compensation.”
“None of Plaintiffs’ sham efforts to re-write what happened on the set in 1967, or how they have comported themselves since, saves this lawsuit from the fate of the Prior Action,” the studio’s lawyers said.
The actors’ attorney, William Romaine, recommends that they appeal the ruling. He believes it wasn’t correct for the judge to bring up factual findings and digital restoration at this stage of the suit.
Whether the actors will appeal or not has not been announced, but unfortunately, child exploitation has won out in this latest court match.
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