Judge to toss out ‘Romeo and Juliet’ child sex-abuse lawsuit filed by stars of 1968 film

Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, teen stars of 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” sued Paramount Pictures earlier this year over a nude scene. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge sided with Paramount Pictures on Thursday in a child sex-abuse lawsuit tied to a nude scene in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet.” Judge Alison Mackenzie issued a tentative ruling that dismisses the lawsuit, writing that Paramount‘s actions in making the film are “protected activity” under the 1st Amendment, according to court documents reviewed by The Times. Whiting and Hussey, who are both now 72, said they were coerced into filming the nude scene after Zeffirelli initially assured them that “there would be no nudity filmed or exhibited, and that would be wearing flesh colored undergarments during the bedroom/love scene.” They said Zeffirelli told them “they must act in the nude or the Picture would fail,” and threatened “they would never work again in any profession, let alone Hollywood” if they didn’t comply. Mackenzie disagreed in her ruling by citing previous cases that found that “not all nude pictures of children are child pornography” if the images are “in the proper context.” To be child porn, the images would need to contain “lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area,” she wrote.