Credit: Paramount

Franco Zeffirelli’s son responds to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ child abuse claims

Mon 9 January 2023 10:54, UK

Franco Zeffirelli’s son, Pippo, has criticised actors Oliva Hussey and Leonard Whiting following a recent child abuse lawsuit that was filed against Paramount Studios. The lawsuit concerns a scene in Zeffirelli’s 1968 film Romeo and Juliet in which the two actors starred.

Hussey was 15 and Whiting was 16 when the film was made. However, the two claim that the director forced them to perform a sex scene. The actors also argue they were initially told there would be no nudity in the film and that Zeffirelli allegedly told them that “the film would fail” if they were not nude for the scene.

Hussey and Whiting claim they have experienced “mental anguish and emotional distress” after being filmed nude without their knowledge, as they argue the director lied about the camera positioning. Tony Marinozzi, the actors’ business manager, claimed: “What they were told and what went on were two different things.”

“They trusted Franco. At 16, as actors, they took his lead that he would not violate that trust they had,” he added. “Franco was their friend, and frankly, at 16, what do they do? There are no options. There was no #MeToo.”

According to The Guardian, Zeffirelli’s son Pippo has responded to the claims that the scenes his father shot were “far from pornographic”.

“Zeffirelli himself was accused of being reactionary precisely because, over and over again, he spoke out against pornography,” the son, who is also Franco Zeffirelli Foundation, added. “The nude images in the film express the beauty, the transfer, I would even say the candour of mutual giving and do not contain any morbid feeling.”

Zeffirelli’s son also claims that the film’s producers, John Brabourne and Anthony Havelock-Allan, recieved consent forms from the parents. “It is embarrassing to hear that today, 55 years after filming, two elderly actors who owe their notoriety essentially to this film wake up to declare that they have suffered an abuse that has caused them years of anxiety and emotional discomfort,” he shared.

The director’s son added: “It appears to me that in all these years, they have always maintained a relationship of deep gratitude and friendship towards Zeffirelli, releasing hundreds of interviews about the happy memory of their very fortunate experience, which was crowned with worldwide success.”

Hussey had previously discussed her thoughts on the nude scene, stating: “Oh god, I was dreading that scene. They did it gradually, though, and nobody was allowed to watch.” As for whether the scene was “improved” by performing it nude, Hussey added: “Yes, because it doesn’t look dirty.”

Hussey and Whiting have yet to respond to the director’s son.