Romeo and Juliet stars suing Paramount for sexual abuse 55 years after film’s release

THE stars of the Oscar-winning 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet are suing Paramount Pictures for sexual abuse.

Leonard Whiting, 72, and Olivia Hussey, 71, were just teenagers when they appeared nude in the film.

In a lawsuit filed in the US, in which they are seeking damages of £417million, they claim the director Franco Zeffirelli encouraged them to shoot naked scenes despite previously saying they wouldn’t need to.

They have accused the studio of sexual harassment, fraud, sexual abuse and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The pair allege that they were told they would wear flesh-coloured underwear for a bedroom scene.

But they claim that Franco, who died in 2019 aged 96, said during the final day of filming that the film would “fail” unless they went naked.

The final version briefly showed his bare bottom and her breasts.

Paramount is yet to publicly comment on the case.

Their attorney Solomon Gresen said they were “very young naïve children in the ‘60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them.”

Tony Marinozzi, a business manager for the two British actors, said in a statement: “What they were told and what went on were two different things.

“They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took 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.”

Olivia and Leonard were 15 and 16 respectively at the time of shooting.

Their suit apparently relies on a California law that expired on December 31, which temporarily suspended the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.

The £417million in damages the pair are said to be seeking matches the amount the film has made since it was released.

Their suit also alleges Franco – nominated for an Academy Award for best director for the film – showed them where the camera would be placed when they were naked, but said no nudity would be filmed or released.

The pair say the scene caused them long-lasting financial, physical and emotional pain, and alleges the film cost them a “lifetime of loss of earnings and other employment benefits and job opportunities.”

However, during an interview with Variety in 2018, Olivia defended the nude scene.

She said: “Nobody my age had done that before… It was needed for the film.”