Kevin Costner sued by 'Horizon' stunt performer over 'unscripted, unscheduled' rape scene
Kevin Costner is being sued by a stunt performer who alleges he blindsided her with an unscripted rape scene on the set of his film "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2."
Devyn LaBella, 34, filed a lawsuit against the actor and director on May 27, accusing Costner of sexual discrimination and harassment, according to a copy of the complaint viewed by Paste BN. The suit alleges that LaBella, who worked as lead stunt double for actress Ella Hunt on the Western film, "was the victim of a violent unscripted, unscheduled rape scene directed" by Costner.
In a statement, Costner's attorney Marty Singer said LaBella's claim has "absolutely no merit" and is "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," Singer said. "But those shakedown tactics won't work in this case."
Costner's lawyer maintained that the actor-director "always wants to make sure that everyone is comfortable working on his films and takes safety on set very seriously."
According to the complaint, the incident occurred on a day when LaBella was scheduled to perform as a double for Hunt in a non-intimate scene.
When Hunt arrived on set that day, she learned that Costner had requested new scenes be shot in which actor Roger Ivens would climb on top of her, "violently raking up her skirt," per the lawsuit. Hunt became upset by the "ad hoc and violent nature of the sudden script change request" and failure to have an intimacy coordinator present, so she walked off set and refused to film the scene, the complaint says.
Costner then allegedly asked LaBella, who said she was unaware that Hunt had walked off the set, to stand in for the actress. But LaBella received no instruction that her "involvement in the impromptu shot would go beyond standing in as a standard body-double," the suit claims.
"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," the complaint says, going on to allege Costner directed Ivens to "repeatedly perform a violent simulated rape" on LaBella "without proper notice, consent, preparation, or appropriate safeguard measures in place, such as the project's intimacy coordinator being called in."
The "unscripted" and "unrehearsed" scene allegedly involved Ivens mounting LaBella, miming the unbuttoning of his pants, "forcibly pinning" her down, and "violently" rustling her skirt up.
Costner provided "no clear direction of when the scene began or ended," the suit alleges, which LaBella says increased her stress and confusion. She says she was "never given the opportunity to prepare for or consent to participate in this scene, much less to object to it." An intimacy coordinator was allegedly not advised that a scene calling for her presence was going to be shot.
LaBella's personal undergarments were exposed during the filming of the scene, which the lawsuit says was "especially humiliating" to her because "she was menstruating at the time, compounded by the fact that between takes, Mr. Ivens' hands rested on top of the bundled-up skirt above her vagina."
The complaint points to actors' union SAG-AFTRA's guide to scenes involving nudity and simulated sex, which states 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," and that this rider must be provided at least 48 hours prior to call time.
"In this case, production failed to provide Ms. LaBella any notice of the simulated sex act she was expected to perform, much less the contractually required rider," her suit says.
The complaint additionally objects to the fact that the scene was "broadcast publicly on monitors for the entire crew to witness," whereas the "set should have been closed" given its sensitive nature.
A day prior, a scripted rape scene was shot, which the suit points to as standing in contrast to the unscripted scene. The earlier scene was "thoroughly choreographed and rehearsed" to ensure LaBella "knew exactly what to expect," whereas with the unscripted scene, "none of these safety protocols occurred."
LaBella experienced "shock, embarrassment and humiliation" after the incident and began going to therapy after production wrapped to "address symptoms stemming from her traumatic experience" on set, her lawsuit alleges.
In the statement, Costner's attorney maintained that the scene in question "was explained" to LaBella, adding that she performed a rehearsal with another actor and gave her stunt coordinator supervisor a thumbs up to indicate "her willingness to then shoot the scene."
Costner's attorney went on to say that LaBella had dinner with the stunt coordinator and assistant stunt coordinator that night and "was in good spirits and made no complaints to them." The attorney provided a copy of an alleged "cordial" text where LaBella thanked the stunt coordinator "for these wonderful weeks!"
"Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2" is the second part in a planned four-part Western film series directed by and starring Costner. The first part hit theaters in June 2024, and "Chapter 2" was originally set to debut in August 2024, but the sequel was pulled from release last year. "Chapter 2" premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September, but it does not have a theatrical release date set.