“Romeo and Juliet”, the film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, arrived in 1968 to bring Shakespeare’s work to the big screen. He won two Oscars and continues to give people something to talk about, but not in the way that his fans wanted after the latest lawsuit from his protagonists.
olivia hussey Y Leonard Whiting they sued Paramount for sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud. Both were 15 and 16 years old, respectively, when they recorded the film. Now they seek compensation of more than 500 million dollars.
The nudes that saw the light in the film
In “Romeo and Juliet”, we could see Whiting’s bare bottom and Hussey’s bare breasts. The director told them that they had no choice. If they didn’t, the movie would flop and their careers would suffer, so they felt they had no choice but to act stripped down in body makeup.
As a result of the way they were treated, both stars suffered emotional damage and mental anguish for decades.
Why did they take so long to file a lawsuit?
The actors’ business manager, Tony Marinozzi, revealed that the director and the studio had betrayed them. As he indicates, the couple could not take action before because they feared there would be ramifications in their careers and that they would not be believed.
“At the time, there was just no way to tell that story for people to hear, and it’s something they’ve had to live with and probably struggle with all their lives,” he told BBC News. Likewise, he thanked movements like #MeToo through different platforms.
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