Kevin Costner has fired back at a lawsuit from a “Horizon 2” stunt performer who claims that she was forced to perform an unscripted rape scene in violation of union protocols.
In a motion to throw out the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Costner said the allegations are “patently false” and “deeply disappointing” and were designed to damage his reputation.
“I can only assume that purpose was to use this sensationalistic language to embarrass and damage me and the ‘Horizon’ movies on an ongoing basis in order to gain a massive and unjustified payday,” Costner said in a court declaration. “Equally as bad, having to read about and address allegations I know to be false involving the words ‘rape’ and ‘assault’ has been an absolute nightmare.”
Devyn LaBella sued Costner in May for sexual harassment and for creating a hostile work environment. She alleged that Costner improvised a scene in which an actor straddled her and raked up her skirt in an aggressive manner. The intimacy coordinator on the film later documented lapses in protocols during the scene, including a lack of planning, communication and the lack of a closed set.
In response, Costner stated that it was not a “rape scene,” and that while rape was implied, there was no nudity or simulated sex.
“This was one artistic shot designed to imply what was going to happen off-screen, and purposely was not a ‘simulated rape’ as Devyn now falsely describes it,” he stated.
Costner and his company are seeking to throw out the suit under California’s anti-SLAPP law, which is designed to protect free speech on matters of public concern.
Marty Singer, Costner’s attorney, wrote in the motion that “Horizon 2” — which has yet to be released — addresses “the horrific struggles endured by women” in the American West in the post-Civil War era, “including their extreme vulnerability to rape and other forms of violence,” and that therefore it qualifies for protection under the anti-SLAPP law.
In an anti-SLAPP motion, the losing side has the right to appeal immediately, which will likely delay the case for a year or more regardless of the outcome at the trial court.
The motion includes declaration from many crew members who maintain that the shot was not out of the ordinary.
Roger Ivens, the other performer in the scene, stated that LaBella offered a “false and sensationalist” description of the scene in her lawsuit, in which she characterized it as depicting a violent rape.
“It is not what happened,” Ivens stated. “This was not in any way, shape, or form a simulated sex scene.”
Roger Ivens and Devyn LaBella perform the alleged “rape scene” in Horizon 2, in a still image produced in litigation by the production.
Via Horizon Series Inc.
Wade Allen, the stunt coordinator who hired and supervised LaBella, also stated that the scene involved “no intimacy, no nudity, no sexual conduct or sexual movement of any kind.”
He also stated that LaBella gave him a thumbs up before and after the run-through, and seemed upbeat and enthusiastic about the experience.
“At no point that day did she evidence any distress or discomfort, or any concern about what she had been asked to do,” Allen stated.
In response to the filing, LaBella’s lawyer, James Vagnini, said that LaBella’s professional demeanor does not undermine her allegations, and noted that her claims have been corroborated by the intimacy coordinator and other witnesses and text messages.
“This filing is continued evidence that one of Hollywood’s most powerful men is trying to skirt accountability for reckless and harmful behavior,” Vagnini said. “This baseless motion is nothing but a desperate delay tactic from a panicked legal team with no real defense. The only things damaging Kevin Costner’s reputation are his own reckless, harmful behavior and the offensive narrative he’s spreading to cover it up.”
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