Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting sue over teenage sex scene in Romeo and Juliet

Two actors who starred in Franco Zeffirelli’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet are suing for $500 million over a sex scene they had to film together.

Two actors who starred in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 rendition of Romeo and Juliet are suing for over $725 million over a sex scene they were made to film as teenagers.

Olivia Hussey, 71, and Leonard Whiting, 72, were just 15 and 16 years old at the time of filming the Shakespearean classic.

The pair filed a lawsuit at the Santa Monica Superior Court in California this week, accusing Paramount Pictures of sexual harassment, fraud, sexual abuse, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The British actors said Zeffirelli initially told them there would not be nutidy in the film, but by the time they arrived on set, things had changed.

According to the pair, Zeffirelli told them they must act while naked “or the picture would fail” and their careers would be hurt.

The actors “believed they had no choice but to act in the nude in body makeup as demanded”, according to the lawsuit.

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Two actors who starred in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 rendition of Romeo and Juliet are suing for $500 million over a sex scene they were made to film as teenagers.

“What they were told and what went on were two different things,” business manager Tony Marinozzi said.

“They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took his lead that he would not violate that trust they had.

“Franco was their friend, and frankly, at 16, what do they do?” Marinozzi added in a statement to the outlet. There are no options. There was no #MeToo.”

The pair’s lawyer Solomon Gresen said the actors “were very young naïve children in the ’60s who had no understanding of what was about to hit them.”

According to the pair, Zeffirelli told them they must act while naked ‘or the picture would fail’ and their careers would be hurt.

“All of a sudden they were famous at a level they never expected, and in addition they were violated in a way they didn’t know how to deal with,” he said.

The pair are seeking $500 million (A$727m) in damages — which is the amount the film has made since its release over 50 years ago.

Whiting’s bare buttocks and Hussey’s bare breasts are briefly shown during the scene.

Olivia Hussey, 71, and Leonard Whiting, 72, were just 15 and 16 years old at the time of filming the Shakespearean classic.

Originally published as Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting sue over teenage sex scene in Romeo and Juliet