{"id":1297745,"date":"2023-05-25T18:11:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T22:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/judge-throws-out-lawsuit-over-1968-romeo-and-juliet-underage-nude-scene\/1297745\/"},"modified":"2023-05-25T18:11:03","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T22:11:03","slug":"judge-throws-out-lawsuit-over-1968-romeo-and-juliet-underage-nude-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/judge-throws-out-lawsuit-over-1968-romeo-and-juliet-underage-nude-scene\/1297745\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Over 1968 \u2018Romeo and Juliet\u2019 Underage Nude Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ftpimagefix\" style=\"float:left\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/romeo-juliet-lawsuit-thrown-out-nude-scene-1235625534\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\tA judge on Thursday said she will throw out a lawsuit over a nude scene in the 1968 version of \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d after finding that the film is protected by the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>\tThe stars of the film, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, <a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/romeo-and-juliet-child-abuse-nude-scene-lawsuit-1235477837\/\" rel=\"noopener\">filed the suit<\/a> in December, alleging that they were coerced by director Franco Zeffirelli into performing nude in the film\u2019s bedroom scene. Hussey was 16 at the time of filming; Whiting was 17.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More from Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/paramount-romeo-juliet-nude-scene-1235604948\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Paramount Seeks to Throw Out Suit Over 1968 &#8216;Romeo and Juliet&#8217; Nude Scene<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/romeo-and-juliet-child-abuse-leonard-whiting-olivia-hussey-1235484491\/\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8216;Romeo and Juliet&#8217; Stars Claim Nude Scene Was Child Abuse. Do They Have a Case?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/zeffirelli-foundation-slams-sexual-abuse-suit-romeo-and-juliet-nude-1235482227\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Franco Zeffirelli Foundation Slams &#8216;Embarrassing&#8217; Sexual Abuse Suit Over &#8216;Romeo and Juliet&#8217; Nude Scene<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\tJudge Alison Mackenzie granted Paramount\u2019s motion to throw out the suit, finding that the plaintiffs had not complied with the provisions of a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims.<\/p>\n<p>\tMackenzie also rejected the plaintiffs\u2019 argument that the nude scene amounted to \u201cchild pornography.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cPlaintiffs have not put forth any authority showing the film here can be deemed to be sufficiently sexually suggestive as a matter of law to be held to be conclusively illegal,\u201d the judge wrote. \u201cPlaintiffs\u2019 argument on the subject is limited to cherry-picked language from federal and state statutes without offering any authority regarding the interpretation or application of those statutory provisions to purported works of artistic merit, such as the award-winning film at issue here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tParamount sought to dismiss the suit under California\u2019s anti-SLAPP statute, which is intended to weed out frivolous lawsuits that suppress free speech. The judge found both that \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d qualifies for First Amendment protection, and that the suit is barred by the statute of limitations.<\/p>\n<p>\tSolomon Gresen, who represents Hussey and Whiting, said in an interview that he was consulting with appellate lawyers, and also planned to file a separate lawsuit in federal court. The plaintiffs plan to base the new lawsuit on a <a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.criterion.com\/films\/30205-romeo-and-juliet\" rel=\"noopener\">Criterion Collection DVD<\/a> of the film, which came out in February. The Criterion release included a 4K digital restoration, which Gresen argued would restart the statute of limitations.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cChildren cannot consent to use of these images,\u201d Gresen said. \u201cThey\u2019re profiting off these images without consent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tThe bedroom scene includes a lingering shot of Whiting\u2019s buttocks and a glimpse of Hussey\u2019s breasts as she gets out of the bed.<\/p>\n<p>\tHussey and Whiting submitted declarations to the court on May 11, in which they described their experience during filming. In her declaration, Hussey stated that during the scene, Whiting \u201creturned to the bed and gets under the covers with me, climbs on top of me and we acted like we were having intercourse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tWhiting made a similar representation, saying that he \u201cgot under the covers with Plaintiff Hussey, climbed on top of her and we acted like we were having intercourse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tIn response, Paramount\u2019s lawyers called that \u201ccompletely false and perjured testimony.\u201d Paramount\u2019s lawyers stated that the film \u201cdepicts a completely different scene and sequence of events.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best of Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:6;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/feature\/2023-emmys-reality-competition-unstructured-structured-host-predictions-1235625530\/?utm_source=yahoo-2&amp;utm_medium=feeds&amp;utm_campaign=best_of_brands\" rel=\"noopener\">Emmy Predictions: Reality Categories \u2013 #Scandoval Creates &#8216;Vanderpump&#8217; Awards Contender; &#8216;Love Is Blind&#8217; Hosts Backlash May Help Campaign<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:7;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/feature\/2023-emmys-guest-actress-drama-predictions-1235575976\/?utm_source=yahoo-2&amp;utm_medium=feeds&amp;utm_campaign=best_of_brands\" rel=\"noopener\">Emmy Predictions: Guest Actress (Drama) &#8212; Melanie Lynskey and Anna Torv From &#8216;The Last of Us&#8217; Challenging &#8216;Succession&#8217; Women<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:8;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/feature\/2023-tonys-best-musical-revival-predictions-1235559508\/?utm_source=yahoo-2&amp;utm_medium=feeds&amp;utm_campaign=best_of_brands\" rel=\"noopener\">Tony Predictions: Best Musical &#8212; Four Stand Poised to Give \u2018Kimberly Akimbo\u2019 Some Competition <\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sign up for <a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:9;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/pages.email.variety.com\/signup\/?source=yahoo\" rel=\"noopener\">Variety\u2019s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on <a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:10;pos:1\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2MGsXik\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:11;pos:1\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2Bnlwsf\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:12;pos:1\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2TqsJ1m\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:13;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/romeo-juliet-lawsuit-thrown-out-nude-scene-1235625534\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here to read the full article. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>From:<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/romeo-juliet-lawsuit-thrown-out-nude-scene-1235625534\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Over 1968 \u2018Romeo and Juliet\u2019 Underage Nude Scene\" rel=\"noopener\">AOL<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A judge on Thursday said she will throw out a lawsuit over a nude scene in the 1968 version of \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d after finding&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1297745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1297745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1297745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1297745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1297745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}