Kevin Costner hit with lawsuit over ‘violent' rape scene in Horizon 2 movie

7NEWS

29-05-2025

Kevin Costner has been sued by a stunt performer from the set of Horizon 2, who claims she was put in an unscripted rape scene without warning or proper filming safety protocols.
Devyn LaBella, 34, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the Horizon series, production company Territory Pictures and Costner — the director, producer and star of the film series — alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The 'violent, unscripted, unscheduled' rape scene unfolded during filming in Utah on May 2, 2023, according to the complaint.
LeBella said filming the scene filled her with shame, upended her career and left her reeling with permanent trauma.
Horizon: An American Saga is a four-part series written, directed and produced by and starring Costner, chronicling the settlement of the American West. Chapter 1 of the series was released in June 2024, and Chapter 2 debuted at film festivals but has not had a theatrical release.
Marty Singer, an attorney for Costner, said in a statement on Wednesday that LaBella's claim has 'absolutely no merit' and is 'completely contradicted by her own actions'.
'As a stunt performer on Horizon 2, the scene in question was explained to Ms. LaBella, and after she performed the rehearsal in character with another actor, she gave her Stunt Coordinator supervisor a 'thumbs up' and indicated her willingness to then shoot the scene, if needed (which she was not),' Singer said.
Attorneys for LaBella said the lawsuit seeks to 'address the continued failures at the highest levels of Hollywood production companies' and the need for intimacy coordination.
The Horizon series and Territory Pictures did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The scene
According to the lawsuit, LaBella had entered into a SAG-AFTRA contract with the movie company as the lead stunt double for the series' lead actor, Ella Hunt.
In her role, 'LaBella's job was to step in for the actor during physical scenes and to perform the stunt while the cameras were rolling,' the complaint said. 'Such scenes are usually rehearsed and choreographed to ensure safety and accuracy.'
For the first few weeks on set in spring 2023, she performed her stunts without incident. Then, things 'changed drastically' on May 2, the complaint said.
When Hunt arrived on set that day, she learned that Costner had requested additional scenes not on the call sheet in which actor Roger Ivens was to climb on top of her and violently hike up her skirt, simulating a rape scene, the complaint said.
The scene was not specified for that day, no closed set was specified, and no arrangements were made for the set's intimacy coordinator to be present during filming, the filing said.
'Due to the ad hoc and violent nature of the sudden script change request, along with the failure to secure a contractually required intimacy coordinator for the scene, Ms. Hunt became visibly upset and walked off the set, refusing to do the scene,' the complaint said.
LaBella was unaware that Hunt had left, and Costner asked her to 'stand in' for Hunt to 'line up (a) shot', the complaint said.
LaBella was not a stand-in performer, and such a task was not within her scope as a stunt double, but she agreed.
She was not warned about the sexual nature of the scene, which she learned about when Ivens was already on top of her in a wagon and violently pulled up her skirt, the complaint said, adding Costner was fully in charge of directing the action filmed that day.
'Without proper notice, consent, preparation or appropriate safeguard measures in place, such as the project's intimacy coordinator being called in, Defendant Costner directed Mr. Ivens to repeatedly perform a violent simulated rape on Ms. LaBella,' the complaint said.
The suit says such a scene is in violation of SAG-AFTRA rules that mandate a performer doing a scene simulating sex must have written consent in the form of a rider that must be provided at least 48 hours before call time. SAG-AFTRA also prohibits such last-minute changes.
The movie set failed to supply details of the scene on the call sheet in advance, failed to have rehearsals and did not provide an intimacy coordinator, and the set was not closed, the complaint said.
Furthermore, despite the privacy of the scene, it was broadcast publicly on monitors for the entire crew to witness while the set was open, the complaint said.
'Indeed, there were multiple onlookers along with the producers watching this scene unfold on monitors in the video village,' it said.
The complaint alleged that Costner also failed to consistently announce 'action' and 'cut' to make it clear when the scene began or ended. It also said there were no breaks in which the actors separated to reset.
LaBella could not escape the situation, and all she could do was 'wait for the nightmare to end,' the complaint said.
The suit said the movie set filmed a rape scene the previous day, May 1, in which, in sharp contrast with May 2, all the proper safety protocols were followed.
The aftermath
After the scene, LaBella was left in the wagon alone, feeling shocked, embarrassed and humiliated and holding back tears, the complaint said.
After her stunt coordinator saw she was upset, she was told the production team would use a body double for such scenes in the future.
She met with her stunt coordinator and two other stunt coordinators for dinner and expressed her concern and outrage, but the male attendees 'blamed her for not speaking up', the suit alleged.
Singer, Costner's attorney, rebutted the claim, saying LaBella had dinner with her supervising stunt coordinator and was in 'good spirits and made no complaints to them'.
The day after the filming, LaBella also contacted the intimacy coordinator and told her about what happened, according to the lawsuit.
LaBella suffered bouts of crying on and off set in the following days, the complaint said. She went home to spend time with her family for a few days. But when she returned to set, she found that the production team was 'now extra careful' around her, and she was directed to stay alone in her trailer and not be present on set, according to the complaint.
In June 2023, LaBella began therapy to address symptoms from the traumatic experience, 'including intrusive distressing memories', sleep disturbance, fears of intimacy, and anxiety, it said.
After her complaints of sexual harassment on set, LaBella was not hired back to continue as a stunt double for Horizon 3, which began filming in early 2024. She also was not hired again for any other projects by her stunt coordinator, according to the complaint.
'On that day, I was left exposed, unprotected, and deeply betrayed by a system that promised safety and professionalism,' LaBella said in a statement on Wednesday.
'What happened to me shattered my trust and forever changed how I move through this industry.
'This experience has ignited in me a lifelong mission to be the advocate I once needed, ensuring no one else is ever left as vulnerable as I was.'
The suit alleges sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, creation of a hostile work environment based on sex, failure to remedy/prevent discrimination and harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
It seeks compensatory and punitive damages and asks that the defendants submit to anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual violence training, that the defendants be required to engage an intimacy coordinator on all future productions and that the defendants issue a public apology to LaBella.