Son of 'Romeo And Juliet' director rips $500M nudity lawsuit from stars: 'Far from pornographic'
Fox News
Pippo Zeffirelli has taken issue with the lawsuit brought upon by Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, who have suggested his late father pushed them to do nudity in "Romeo and Juliet" as young actors.
Last week, Whiting and Hussey, now 72 and 71 respectively, filed a suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Paramount Pictures, claiming sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud after a nude scene was included in the 1968 film. Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer.
At the time, Whiting, 16 and Hussey, 15 say Zeffirelli assured them their bodies would be obscured by flesh-colored undergarments and camera framing, however later, upon filming the scene, Zeffirelli allegedly told the actors' nudity was need "or the Picture would fail."