Olivia Hussey was 15 and Leonard Whiting 16 after they starred within the movie

Los Angeles:

The actors who performed star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 movie are suing Paramount Pictures for little one abuse over their temporary nude scene, their lawyer stated Tuesday.

Olivia Hussey was 15 and Leonard Whiting 16 after they starred within the Oscar-winning model of William Shakespeare’s tragedy.

The actors, now each of their 70s, declare in a go well with filed in Santa Monica final week {that a} bed room scene quantities to sexual exploitation by film studio Paramount, and that the corporate was responsible of distributing nude photos of adolescents.

The go well with says Zeffirelli — who died in 2019 — cajoled them into performing the scene, telling them with out it “the picture would fail”, having initially insisted there can be no precise nudity, with each actors lined by flesh-colored underwear.

“Defendants were dishonest and secretly filmed the nude or partially nude minor children without their knowledge, in violation of the state and federal laws regulating indecency and exploitation of minors for profit,” the go well with says.

The criticism, which claims damages of a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars}, says the 2 performers have suffered psychological anguish and emotional misery within the five-and-a-half a long time for the reason that movie got here out, and that each had solely restricted skilled success in its wake.

Both gained Golden Globes for his or her performances.

Solomon Gresen, representing the actors, informed AFP the years which have elapsed for the reason that movie was made didn’t reduce the injury completed, particularly because it has been re-released since.

“(Paramount) have images that they know are images of underage nudity that should be removed from the film. That would be the beginning for sure,” he stated.

“Sexually explicit images of children are bad and they shouldn’t be tolerated.

“If they had been below 16, then they’re below 16. It’s a sexually specific picture of an underage particular person, it needs to be forbidden.”

December 31 was the final date for historical child sex abuse lawsuits to be filed in California under a temporary waiver of the statutes of limitation.

A raft of claims were lodged during the waiver, including one last week by a woman who says she was the teenage lover of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler in the 1970s.

There was no immediate response from Paramount to AFP’s request for comment.

Variety reported that during its 2018 interview with Hussey, she had defended the nude scene, which she insisted Zeffirelli had done tastefully.

“It was wanted for the movie,” she told the outlet at the time.

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