Kevin Costner is being sued by stunt performer Devyn LaBella for breach of contract and coercion into an unscripted rape scene during the production of the unreleased Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2.
According to LaBella’s lawsuit,1 Labella was asked to “stand in” while Costner “lined up a shot”. The scene for the day was to be “Juliette rakes thru a chest drawer with Hugh’s clothes, gets his carbine gun with handwritten instructions.”
Instead, Costner improvised a rape scene for the character Juliette. This was following a planned rape scene shot the previous day with Juliette’s actor, Ella Hunt, and LaBella doing the stunts.
The planned rape scene was shot on a “closed” set with the contract-mandated intimacy coordinator, SAG-AFTRA mandated 48-hour notice for simulated sex2.
This second, unplanned rape scene was pitched only to Ella Hunt, who rejected it and left the set leaving LaBella to stand-in on an “open” set without the required safety measures or even prior knowledge of the scene.
The unscripted rape scene was performed with a new actor, Mr. Ivens, who LaBella had not worked intimately with.
Additionally, the set was “open”, when intimacy scenes are mandated to be “closed”, meaning that:
“over one hundred people viewed as other camera department crew members on the open set called out for Ivens to “rake up her skirt higher.”
Despite being asked to only ‘stand-in to line up a shot’, the scene took multiple takes, with the 5’4″ LaBella pinned beneath the 6’2”, 220lbs Mr. Ivens for much of it.
This run through of the action occurred over and over as Defendant Costner experimented with different takes of the rape action. Ms. LaBella was never given the opportunity to prepare for or
consent to participate in this scene, much less to object to it. To the contrary, without a discussion, explanation, rehearsal, choreography session or stunt or intimacy coordinator present, Defendant Costner instructed Ms. LaBella to “lay down” as Mr. Ivens, who was dirty and covered in sweat, climbed on top of her and then lifted up her skirt while pinning her legs down so she could not move.
Immediately after the scene, LaBella was “holding back the tears“, so stunt coordinator, Mr. Allen, assured her she would not have to act in a scene like this again, and that a body double would be used in future.
She then had to complete a short scene of “her shadow in the rain“, after which she went to her car and called her husband, crying as she recounted the details.
During the rest of the production, LaBella “sudden bouts of crying on and off set”. Since then, LaBella was not rehired for the filming of Horizon: Part 3, nor for other work by Mr Allen’s stunt production company. She went on to say:
The workplace, and stunt work in general, which was once a source of purpose and fulfillment, is now a place of heightened apprehension and the whole experience has left Ms. LaBella feeling “disposable” and “worthless.” The thought of returning to a set gives her an overwhelming sense of dread.”
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter3 Costner’s attorney said that Costner “always wants to make sure that everyone is comfortable working on his films and takes safety on set very seriously.” Adding that the lawsuit is “completely contradicted by [LaBella’s] own actions — and the facts.”
The senior director of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund supported LaBella’s case saying, “The guidelines that are supposed to be followed on regular movie sets weren’t being followed.”
This is the second legal issue for Costner and Horizon: Part 2, with New Line Cinema’s filing for arbitration over alleged breaches to a deal4. Horizon: Part 2 also had it’s release postponed by New Line Cinema due to Horizon Part 1 underperforming, leaving Costner and his film in more hot water.
- Devyn Labella’s Compaint for Damages: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25954648/costner-suit.pdf ↩︎
- SAG-AFTRA mandates that a “performer’s performance or depiction in a scene requiring
nudity or simulated sex acts is conditioned on their prior written consent, which should take the form of a
rider attached to their contract.” https://www.sagaftra.org/quick-guide-scenes-involving-nudity-andsimulated-sex. A rider must be provided to a performer “at least 48 hours before call time to
review/negotiate rider for nudity/simulated sex. Last-minute changes are prohibited.” (Emphasis added) ↩︎ - Statement by Costner’s Attorney
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kevin-costner-lawsuit-horizon-2-unscripted-rape-scene-1236231181/ ↩︎ - New Line Cinema’s Arbitration Claim
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/horizon-lawsuit-kevin-costner-new-line-territory-1236211679/ ↩︎