Judge to dismiss ‘Romeo & Juliet’ stars’ lawsuit over 1968 film

A Los Angeles County judge on May 25 said she will dismiss a lawsuit that the stars of 1968's "Romeo and Juliet" filed over the film's nude scene, finding that their depiction could not be considered child pornography and they filed their claim too late.

Superior Court Judge Alison Mackenzie ruled in favor of a motion from defendant Paramount Pictures to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Olivia Hussey, who played Juliet at age 15 and is now 72, and Leonard Whiting, who played Romeo at 16 and is also 72.

Mackenzie determined that the scene was protected by the First Amendment, finding that the actors "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."

In her written decision, she also found that the suit didn't fall within the bounds of a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, and that a February re-release of the film did not change that.
The actors' attorney denounced the decision and said they plan to file another version of the suit in federal court.
"We firmly believe that the exploitation and sexualization of minors in the film industry must be confronted and legally addressed to protect vulnerable individuals from harm and ensure the enforcement of existing laws," lawyer Solomon Gresen said in a statement.

The film and its theme song were major hits at the time, and - despite the nude scene that briefly shows Whiting's bare buttocks and Hussey's bare breasts - it was played for generations of high school students studying Shakespeare's tragedy.
Director Franco Zeffirelli, who died in 2019 at age 96, initially told the two that they would wear flesh...