What’s described as a “violent unscripted, unscheduled” rape scene is at the heart of a lawsuit filed by a stunt performer against Kevin Costner, director, co-writer and star of “Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 2” and the film’s production companies, according to multiple media reports.
Devyn LaBella filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the “impact of the impromptu work demand” has upended her career and left her permanently traumatized, the Associated Press reported.
The 34-year-old stunt performer, a former gymnast, has been working in Hollywood since at least 2020, her IMDB page showing credits for stunts in “Barbie,” “American Horror Story,” “Yellowjackets” and “CSI: Vegas” among others.
According to the lawsuit, LaBella was working as the stunt double for lead actress Ella Hunt on the second film in Costner’s western series.
While the film, shot in May 2023, included a planned sexual assault scene in which there were rehearsals, meetings, the presence of an intimacy coordinator and minimal crew on set, the lawsuit alleges the following day Costner, without warning, directed an actor to pin LaBella on a wagon and simulate rape, the AP reported.
Additionally, LaBella and her attorneys claim Costner called for many takes while experimenting with the violent action and never made it clear when a shot was starting or ending.
“There was no escaping the situation, and all Ms. LeBella could do was wait for the nightmare to end,” the suit says.
Costner’s attorney Martin Singer, according to the Los Angeles Times, referred to the lawsuit as a “shakedown.”
In a statement to the outlet, Singer described LaBella as a “serial accuser of people in the entertainment industry” and said her actions after her work on the film ended contradict her claims.
In a text message Singer provided to The Times, AP and other outlets, LaBella reportedly told the film’s stunt coordinator Wade Allen how much she learned on the film, her appreciation for the job and saying, “Thank you for these wonderful weeks!”
After the alleged unscheduled rape scene, in which the suit asserts ignored safeguards and violated union contracts and industry standards, LaBella, emotionally traumatized, reportedly returned to her home in L.A. from Utah to “gather herself,” The Times reported.
On her return to set, according to the suit, crew members were reportedly careful around the 34-year-old, requesting that she stay in her trailer and not be on set, which worsened her distress.
LaBella and her attorneys are seeking monetary damages to be determined at trial, a public apology, a judge’s order that the defendants undergo sexual harassment training and that an intimacy coordinator be required on future productions.
“Horizon: An American Saga,” a planned four-part western epic saw its first release in June 2024. Poor box officer performance delayed the immediate release of the second film, which has only been screened at two film festivals.
