Kevin Costner sued by ‘Horizon' Chapter 2 stunt performer over unscripted rape scene

Los Angeles Times

5 days ago

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.
Costner's attorney called the lawsuit a 'shakedown.'
The effect of the 'impromptu work demand' on stunt performer Devyn LaBella 'has been profound,' the lawsuit says, 'not only upending a career Ms. LaBella spent years building but leaving her with permanent trauma that she will be required to address for years to come.'
At the core of the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is the allegation that a day after filming a scripted, planned rape scene where LaBella was the stunt performer and occasional stand-in for actor Ella Hunt and an intimacy coordinator was present, Costner added an unplanned and unscripted rape scene with a different male actor.
'There was no escaping the situation, and all Ms. LaBella could do was wait for the nightmare to end,' the lawsuit says.
'Our client Kevin Costner always wants to make sure that everyone is comfortable working on his films and takes safety on set very seriously. However, this claim by Devyn LaBella has absolutely no merit, and it is completely contradicted by her own actions — and the facts,' Costner's attorney Martin Singer said Wednesday in a statement to The Times, adding that he was confident his client would prevail.
Singer described LaBella — who worked on the film in April and May 2023 — as a 'serial accuser of people in the entertainment industry' and alleged she and her attorneys had used what he called 'shakedown tactics.'
'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 also provided a text message sent from LaBella to stunt coordinator Wade Allen after her work on the film wrapped. 'Thank you for these wonderful weeks! I so appreciate you! I learned so much and thank you again,' she wrote. 'I'm really happy it worked out the way it did.... Have a great rest of the shoot and yes talk soon!'
A representative for LaBella did not respond immediately on Wednesday to The Times' request for comment.
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.
LaBella was not told that Hunt had refused to do the scene and had walked off the set, the lawsuit says, and '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.'
Once filming began, LaBella was unclear about when the action began and ended and got no 'time or space' to consent to or reject Costner's direction of the scene, the lawsuit says. Between takes, Ivens laid on his side within a foot of LaBella's face with his hand 'resting above her vagina,' the filing says.
The lawsuit says that in the days that followed rehearsal of the second rape scene, LaBella frequently found herself in tears and wound up going home to Los Angeles from Utah for a few days to gather herself. Upon her return to the set, the filing says, 'The production team was now extra careful around Ms. LaBella. She was directed to stay alone in her trailer and not be present on set,' which heightened her discomfort.
In June 2023, the lawsuit says, the stunt performer began therapy to deal with 'intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event, sleep disturbance, fears of intimacy, and anxiety.'
LaBella says in the lawsuit that Allen has not cast her in a project since the second chapter of 'Horizon.' Her IMDb page lists no projects after 'Horizon: An American Saga,' a four-part effort by Costner that has fallen on hard times after lower-than-expected box office for the first film. The second chapter was pulled from a planned August 2024 theatrical release and has screened only at two film festivals.
It is unclear whether Hunt's character appears in the third chapter of 'Horizon: An American Saga.' Hunt is not listed as a cast member on the movie, which began filming in May 2024, according to IMDbPro. Allen, who, since the Costner movie, has worked on the TV series 'Landman' and 'Lioness,' is not listed as a stunt coordinator. However, the full cast and crew list appears to be incomplete.
LaBella, a former gymnast described in the lawsuit as a 'rising stunt performer,' has also done stunts on projects including the 'Barbie' movie and the streaming series 'Yellowjackets.' Stunt credits since her work on the second chapter of 'Horizon' include 'NCIS' episodes and the movie 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.'
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages in amounts to be determined at trial, plus costs and legal fees. It also asks that the defendants be required to 'submit to anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual violence training provided by a reputable organization' and to apologize to LaBella.