Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting Sue Paramount Over Nude Scene
The then-teenage stars of 1968's "Romeo and Juliet" claim they were told there'd be no nudity in the film, but in the final days of shooting, the director allegedly implored them to perform in the nude with body makeup, “or the Picture would fail.” https://t.co/dxRJcI4ccC
- Variety (@Variety) January 3, 2023
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Director Bruce Robinson claimed to have been the target of unwanted amorous attention from Zeffirelli during the filming of Romeo and Juliet, in which Robinson played Benvolio. Robinson says that he based the lecherous character of Uncle Monty in the film Withnail and I on Zeffirelli.[40]
In 2018, the American actor Johnathon Schaech alleged that Zeffirelli sexually assaulted him during the filming of Sparrow (Storia di una capinera, 1993).[41] Zeffirelli's son Giuseppe "Pippo", adopted by the filmmaker as an adult, issued a statement at the time denying the allegation.[42][43]
Zeffirelli received criticism from religious groups for what they call the blasphemous representation of biblical figures in his films.[35] Contrariwise, Zeffirelli roused accusations of antisemitism for describing Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ as a product of "that Jewish cultural scum of Los Angeles which is always spoiling for a chance to attack the Christian world."[36]
Zeffirelli was a highly conservative Catholic,[36] and served two terms in the Italian senate as a member of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party.[37] He was criticized by members of the gay community for upholding the Catholic Church's position on homosexuality[35][36][37] and by others for support of the Church's position on abortion,[36][37] which extended to calling for capital punishment for women who had terminated a pregnancy.[37]
He roused controversy again when he told a newspaper in 2006 that he had not suffered any harm from sexual abuse by a priest as a child.[36]
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