LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – A judge in Los Angeles dismissed a lawsuit filed by Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, the stars of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, on Monday. The lawsuit claimed that the 2023 Criterion re-release of the film on Blu-ray digitally enhanced a famous scene, turning it into a new misappropriation of their likeness.
Judge Holly J. Fujie stated that there was no significant visible improvement in the film, particularly in the controversial “bedroom scene,” in the 2023 release compared to prior versions. Hussey alleged that the scene depicting her bare breasts and Whiting’s bare buttocks amounted to “sexual abuse of minors” and “child pornography.” She further claimed that the release was engineered to embarrass her in retaliation for her involvement in the prior lawsuit.
Hussey argued that she never consented to be filmed nude during the original movie’s production in Italy over 50 years ago. She accused Paramount of releasing the images of the scene without proper authorization after Zeffirelli’s death in June 2019. The lawyers for Paramount, Criterion Collections, and Janus Films dismissed the claims, stating that the footage in question was part of the original performance captured on camera as scripted by Shakespeare.
In response to the lawsuit’s dismissal, William Romaine, Hussey’s lawyer, criticized the manipulation of the original film, highlighting changes in lighting in the Criterion re-release. Romaine expressed his intention to recommend an appeal of the ruling, believing that the court overlooked key aspects of the case.
A previous lawsuit by Hussey and Whiting in 2022 was also dismissed, with a Court of Appeals upholding the decision in April 2024. The prior judge, Alison MacKenzie, emphasized that not all images of naked children are considered pornographic, quoting a court precedent on the matter. Lawyers for Paramount declined to comment following the recent ruling.