Judge Dismisses Lawsuit of 1968 ROMEO & JULIET Nude Scene

Judge Alison Mackenzie  has revealed that she will throw out a lawsuit filed over a nude scene in the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” Variety reports. The judge has found that the film is protected by the First Amendment.

Paramount filed a motion to throw out the suit after 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. 

Read the original story on Variety.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who starred in the 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, sued Paramount for child abuse over the film's bedroom scene, in which they claim to have been filmed nude without their knowledge.

The actors, who are now in their 70s, but were 16 and 17 at the time, were allegedly assured by director Franco Zeffirelli, who passed away in 2019, that there would be no bare nudity in the film and that they would wear flesh colored garments in the scene.

The lawsuit alleges that Zeffirelli pressured them into performing the scene nude with body makeup or "the picture would fail." Hussey was only 15 at the time of filming and Whiting was 16.

Their complaint states that after Zeffirelli had showed them where the camera would be positioned and promised them that no nudity would be photographed or released, he was being dishonest to them and they were filmed nude without their knowledge. The final cut of the movie shows Hussey's bare breasts and Whiting's buttocks.

The complaint states that both actors have suffered mental and emotional distress due to the scene and have also lost out on job opportunities. They are believed to be seeking damages around $500 million.