Director Franco Zeffirelli's son calls sexual exploitation lawsuit from Romeo and Juliet stars 'embarrassing'
Romeo and Juliet director Franco Zeffirelli's son has spoken out against the sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey.
Pippo Zeffirelli called the lawsuit filed against Paramount Pictures last month "embarrassing" and maintained that the nude scene at the center of the complaint was "far from pornographic."
He said in a statement obtained by EW, "It is embarrassing to hear that today, 55 years after filming, two elderly actors who owe their notoriety essentially to this film wake up to declare that they have suffered an abuse that has caused them years of anxiety and emotional discomfort."
Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey in 'Romeo and Juliet'
Pippo Ziffirelli, who serves as the president of the Franco Zeffirelli Foundation, also said he believed the film's producers John Brabourne and Anthony Havelock-Allan had consent forms from the actor's parents.
"[Franco] Zeffirelli himself was accused of being reactionary precisely because, over and over again, he spoke out against pornography," he added. "The nude images in the film express the beauty, the transfer, I would even say the candor of mutual giving and do not contain any morbid feeling."
Whiting and Hussey, now in their 70s, are suing Paramount over the nude bedroom scene in the 1968 film. The actors, who were 16 and 15 at the time of production, accused the studio of exploitation, sexual harassment, fraud, sexual abuse, negligence, and the distribution of nude images of children.
In the complaint reviewed by EW, the actors alleged that Zeffirelli — who died in 2019 at the age of 96 — assured them that there would be no nudity in the film, but in the final days of filming, the director encouraged them to film the bedroom scene nude with body makeup or the movie "would fail." Whiting and Hussey also alleged that Zeffirelli misrepresented where the camera would be and filmed them naked without their knowledge.
Leonardo Cendamo/Getty Franco Zeffirelli
The finished film included images of Hussey's breasts and Whiting's buttocks. The actors said they have suffered mental anguish and emotional distress as a result, and have lost out on job opportunities. They are seeking damages believed to be in excess of $500 million. The lawsuit was filed under a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for claims of child sexual abuse.
Reps for both actors and Paramount have not responded to EW's request for comment on the lawsuit.
Pippo Zeffirelli noted that both actors have praised the film in recent years and that Hussey collaborated with his father again in the 1977 miniseries Jesus of Nazareth. "It appears to me that in all these years, they have always maintained a relationship of deep gratitude and friendship towards Zeffirelli, releasing hundreds of interviews about the happy memory of their very fortunate experience, which was crowned with worldwide success," he added.
Related content:
