A stunt performer is suing Kevin Costner, his company Horizon Series Inc. and his Territory Pictures production company over what she says was a “violent unscripted, unscheduled” rape scene that she was roped into without notice and an intimacy coordinator present.
“Our client Kevin Costner always wants to make sure that everyone is comfortable working on his films and takes safety on set very seriously.
The lawsuit accuses Costner of sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, creation of a hostile work environment, retaliation, breach of contract and more.
No intimacy coordinator was there for the unplanned rape scene, the lawsuit says, when LaBella expected to be doubling for Hunt in a “non-intimate” scene.
Allen, who, since the Costner movie, has worked on the TV series “Landman” and “Lioness,” is not listed as a stunt coordinator.
Kevin Costner and his company, Horizon Series Inc., are being sued by a stunt performer. as well as his Territory Pictures production company for what she claims was a “violent unscripted, unscheduled” rape scene in which she was forced to participate without warning and with an intimacy coordinator in attendance.
The lawsuit was dubbed a “shakedown” by Costner’s attorney. “”.
In addition to upending a career that Ms. LaBella spent years building, the lawsuit claims that the “impromptu work demand” had a profound impact on stunt performer Devyn LaBella, leaving her with permanent trauma that she will need to deal with for years to come. “”.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday. It centers on the claim that Costner added an unplanned and unscripted rape scene with a different male actor the day after filming a scripted, planned scene in which LaBella was the stunt performer and occasionally stood-in for actor Ella Hunt, with an intimacy coordinator present.
According to the lawsuit, “Msdot LaBella had no choice but to wait for the nightmare to end because there was no way out of the situation.”.
“Our client Kevin Costner takes safety on set very seriously and always wants to make sure that everyone is comfortable working on his films. Martin Singer, Costner’s lawyer, told The Times on Wednesday that he was certain his client would win the case, saying, “But this claim by Devyn LaBella has absolutely no merit, and it is completely contradicted by her own actions — and the facts.”.
Working on the movie in April and May 2023, Singer called LaBella a “serial accuser of people in the entertainment industry” and claimed that she and her lawyers had employed “shakedown tactics.”. “”.
The scene in question was explained to Ms. LaBella, a stunt performer on Horizon 2, and after she rehearsed in character alongside another actor, she gave her supervisor, the stunt coordinator, a “thumbs up” and said she would be willing to shoot the scene if necessary, which she didn’t. “.”.
Additionally, Singer supplied a text message that LaBella sent to stunt coordinator Wade Allen following the conclusion of her filming. “Thank you so much for these amazing weeks! I learned so much and thank you again,” she wrote. “I’m so glad everything turned out the way it did. Enjoy the remainder of the shoot, and we will definitely speak soon.
When The Times reached out to LaBella for comment on Wednesday, a representative did not immediately reply.
Costner is accused in the lawsuit of sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, retaliation, breach of contract, and creating a hostile work environment.
According to the lawsuit, LaBella was expecting to be doubling for Hunt in a “non-intimate” scene, but there was no intimacy coordinator present for the unplanned rape scene.
The lawsuit claims that LaBella “was not warned or prepared for [scene partner Roger 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.” She was also not informed that Hunt had declined to perform the scene and had left the set. “”.
The lawsuit claims that LaBella had no “time or space” to agree to or disagree with Costner’s direction of the scene once filming started because she was unsure of when the action started and stopped. According to the document, Ivens rested on his side with his hand “resting above her vagina” within a foot of LaBella’s face in between takes.
According to the lawsuit, LaBella regularly broke down in tears during the days after the second rape scene’s rehearsal and ended up returning home to Los Angeles from Utah for a few days to collect herself. According to the filing, “The production team was now extra careful around Ms. LaBella following her return to the set.”. She felt more uneasy when she was told to remain by herself in her trailer and not be on set.
In order to address “intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event, sleep disturbance, fears of intimacy, and anxiety,” the lawsuit claims that the stunt performer started therapy in June 2023. “.”.
According to LaBella’s lawsuit, Allen hasn’t hired her for a project since “Horizon”‘s second chapter. Following “Horizon: An American Saga,” a four-part Costner production that has struggled since its first film’s lower-than-expected box office performance, her IMDb page shows no projects. The second chapter has only been shown at two film festivals since it was canceled from its scheduled August 2024 theatrical release.
Hunt’s character may or may not be mentioned in the third chapter of “Horizon: An American Saga.”. IMDbPro does not list Hunt as a cast member of the film, which started production in May 2024. Allen is not identified as a stunt coordinator, despite having worked on the TV shows “Landman” and “Lioness” since the Costner film. The complete cast and crew list, however, seems to be lacking some details.
According to the lawsuit, LaBella, a former gymnast, is a “rising stunt performer.” She has performed stunts for movies like “Barbie” and the streaming series “Yellowjackets.”. Because she worked on the second chapter of “Horizon,” she has stunt credits for her work on “NCIS” episodes and the film Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. “.”.
The lawsuit asks for costs and legal fees in addition to compensatory and punitive damages in amounts that will be decided at trial. In addition, the defendants are asked to apologize to LaBella and “submit to anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual violence training provided by a reputable organization.”.
