Letter To Juliet: Why Sue Paramount Now?

So ‘Romeo & Juliet’ stars sue Paramount Pics for over $500M over iconic 1968 film’s teen nude scene, but it took this long to claim child abuse & fraud by director Franco Zeffirelli, he of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ fame?

As Variety reported, Leonard Whiting, who played Romeo, and Olivia Hussey, now say the director assured them no nudity would not be shown in final cut. Yet, in the released film, there we saw for a second Leo’s naked 16-yr-old butt & Olivia’s bare 15-yr-old breasts. Remember Zeffirelli, who died in 2019, was reportedly “madly in love” with Olivia, now 71 … but who wasn’t after seeing her as Juliet? Although giving up acting for two years thereafter, she agreed to be reunited with Zeffirelli to play Mother Mary in his acclaimed mini-series depicting the Life of Jesus as the Christ. Olivia would later suffer twice from breast cancer & even underwent a double mastectomy in 2008. The reoccurrence of cancer in 2019, now in remission, coupled with Franco’s death, may have had something to do with suing the film company at this late date?

Yet, the lawsuit’s allegations suggest “betrayal” by the film director who allegedly broke his promise to show no real nudity in the film. According to Fox, Olivia said as late as 2018 Franco’s treatment of that nude scene was “very tastefully done” and gave no hint that she had been sexually abused when a minor. But, now her lawsuit filed partly under California's child sexual abuse law 55 years after the fact suggests otherwise.

Davd Soul