Hollywood reportThe Hollywood Reporter writes that Paramount has not faced a lawsuit accusing its employees of sexual abuse because of a nude scene in the 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Alison McKenzie said on May 25 that she would dismiss the case, finding that the film’s allegations that it depicted “sexual acts” were “gravely misrepresentation” of the scene.
Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who were 16 and 17 years old respectively at the time of filming, starred in Franco Zeffirelli’s film. The $500 lawsuit, filed under a California law that closes the window for filing a child sexual abuse complaint, highlights a bedroom scene in which Whiting’s hips and Hussie’s bare breasts appear.
The actors accused Zeffirelli of forcing them to shoot nude scenes, despite the previous requirement that they wear nude underwear. Zeffirelli allegedly told them “they have to shoot nude or the photo will fail” and “they will never work in any profession again, let alone Hollywood”.
The lawsuit alleges that Paramount profited from the alleged sexual misconduct.
Judge Mackenzie sided with Paramount, pointing out that the scene was “not sexy enough”. He pointed to jurisprudence that not all photos and videos of nude children are child pornography, but only images that contain “voluptuous displays of genitals or groins.”