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Kevin Costner is at the center of a new lawsuit alleging inappropriate behavior and a lack of proper safety protocol on the set of his film Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2.
The suit was filed by Devyn LaBella, the lead stunt double for Ella Hunt’s character, Juliette, in the Horizon films.
According to documents obtained by Page Six, LaBella filed the suit on Tuesday, alleging that she was pressured to perform in a rape scene without any advance warning.
LaBella alleges that Costner improvised rape scene, did not inform her that one actress had already declined to participate
LaBella alleges that she was made to step in after Hunt “refused to do the scene and had walked off the set.”.
The stunt specialist, who allegedly had no knowledge of Hunt’s refusal, says she was brought in as a “stand-in” by Costner.
“In these new scenes, [Roger Ivens] was to climb on top of Ms. Hunt, violently raking up her skirt,” the lawsuit reads.
“Defendant Costner, who was present on the set, specifically added this scene, which varied from the scene filmed the day before which had not involved pulling up the actor’s skirt. Moreover, this revised scene is not specified in the assigned call sheet for that day,” the suit continues.
“Ms. LaBella was not informed that Ms. Hunt had refused to do the scene and had walked off the set.”
Union rules reportedly specify that performers should be given at least 48 hours’ notice before being asked to appear in scenes with sexually explicit content.
LaBella says she was not informed of specifics until it was time to start filming
“Moreover, the call sheet did not specify what the revised shot would consist of nor did any instruction issue from the production crew that Ms. LaBella’s involvement in the impromptu shot would go beyond standing in as a standard body-double,” the suit adds.
Costner, the director on the film, reportedly intended for actor Roger Ivens to “repeatedly perform a violent simulated rape” on her “without proper notice, consent, preparation, or appropriate safeguard measures in place, such as the project’s intimacy coordinator being called in.”
“She was not warned or prepared for Mr. Ivens to perform or engage in any action on top of her and first learned that Ivens would mount her and violently pull her skirt up when he was already on top of her doing so,” says the suit.
“As directed by Costner, this unscripted, unrehearsed scene consisted of Mr. Ivens mounting Ms. LaBella, while miming the unbuttoning of his pants, and using his body and arms forcibly pinning down Ms. LaBella, who was on her back underneath him. Mr. Ivens violently rustled Ms. LaBella’s skirt up as if trying to penetrate her against her will,” says the suit.
Kate McFarlane, an attorney for LaBella, says the case is a “clear example of male-dominated, sexist Hollywood movie production.”
Costner’s attorneys clap back
Costner’s chief legal counsel, Marty Singer, has already repudiated the claims, insisting that his client adhered to all protocols and best practices.
“Our client was subjected to brutal sexual conduct completely unprotected from the obvious harm,” said Singer, adding that Costner “always wants to make sure that everyone is comfortable working on his films and takes safety on set very seriously.”
Singer goes on to accuse LaBella of an attempted “shakedown,” saying: “This claim by Devyn LaBella has absolutely no merit, and it is completely contradicted by her own actions – and the facts. Ms. LaBella is a serial accuser of people in the entertainment industry and has worked with the same lawyer on past claims. But those shakedown tactics won’t work in this case.”
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Kevin Costner Sued For Alleged Unscripted Rape Scene By ‘Horizon 2’ Stuntwoman was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
