The stars of Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 blockbuster Romeo & Juliet have filed a lawsuit over the movie's nude bedroom scene.
Yes, despite being nearly 55 years since the movie was first released, stars Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting are seeking legal action over the fact that they were just 15 and 16 respectively when the Shakespeare adaptation hit theaters.
As reported by Sky News, the now-71-year-old Hussey and the now-72-year-old Whiting have filed the lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, citing alleged sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and fraud.
The suit claims that the two young stars were informed by director Zeffirelli - who passed away back in 2019 - that they would be wearing flesh-colored underwear for an intimate bedroom scene. However, on the morning the scene was shot, the suit claims that Zeffirelli told the co-stars that they would now only be wearing body makeup and that the scene must be performed with no clothes "or the Picture would fail."
The suit - filed with Santa Monica's Superior Court - adds that the director assured the teenagers that the camera would be positioned so that no nudity would be seen.
However, the two actors were filmed nude - which they say occurred "without their knowledge" or consent.
As a result, the suit alleges that the movie studio is in violation of California and federal laws against indecency and the exploitation of children after filming the scene.
Hussey and Whiting are seeking damages "believed to be in excess of $500 million" for mental anguish and negative impacts on their careers, per MovieWeb.
The final scene shows Whiting's bare buttocks and Hussey's bare breasts, per Sky News.
Solomon Gresen, the actors' attorney, said in a recent interview: "Nude images of minors are unlawful and shouldn't be exhibited."
"These were very young naive children in the '60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them," Gresen added. "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."
According to Hussey and Whiting's business manager, Tony Marinozzi, has also commented on the situation, saying, per Movieweb: "What [the actors] were told and what went on were two different things. They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they look 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."
As of this writing, Paramount Pictures has not released a statement regarding the lawsuit.
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