Stars of 1968 Film Sue Again Over Nude Scene

Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey played Romeo and Juliet
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 19, 2024 3:07 PM CST
Updated Feb 24, 2024 4:55 PM CST
Stars of 1968 Film Sue Again Over Nude Scene
In 1968: Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey speak in a Paris hotel about the film "Romeo and Juliet."   (AP Photo/Jean-Jacques Levy, File)

The stars of the 1968 film Romeo & Juliet are once again suing over a nude scene that was shot when they were both under 18. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey object in the new lawsuit to the digital re-release of the movie, which they say provides "high detail" to the scene, reports USA Today. The pair are suing Paramount Pictures and Criterion, and neither company has commented on the litigation. Whiting and Hussey, now 73 and 72, played the roles when they were 16 and 15. The pair earlier filed a lawsuit that was dismissed by a judge last year in which they claimed that director Franco Zeffirelli misled them about what would end up in the film, per People.

The judge in that first case, however, rejected their allegation of sexual abuse, declaring, among other things, that the movie didn't qualify as child pornography. The new lawsuit objects to the digital re-release in particular, arguing that nothing in their contracts allows Paramount to "recreate, republish, or redistribute photographs" of their performances "in any other medium or format than 35 mm analogue." Whiting and Hussey not only want the re-release blocked, they are seeking compensation for "emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, and mental anguish." (More Romeo and Juliet stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X