What are the allegations against Kevin Costner? Actor says the accusations meant to 'damage reputation'

Kevin Costner is speaking out on the allegations of sexual assault levied against him by a stunt performer.

According to People Magazine, the filmmaker recently moved to have the lawsuit tossed out. He filed his motion on Monday in LA Superior Court, asserting that Devyn LaBella’s allegations against him pertaining to an unscripted rape scene in one of the Horizon movies, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2, are "a blatant lie."

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Per The Guardian, the 70-year-old further slammed the claims, noting that it is a “bold-faced lie” that was “designed, through the use of false statements and sensationalistic language, to damage my reputation."

He is now seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed under anti-SLAPP laws, which are in place to protect individuals from intimidation lawsuits.

LaBella served as the stunt double for Ella Hunt. She filed her complaint against Kevin Costner and the production companies in May. By the following month, her lawyers amended the complaint to detail the "shock, embarrassment, and humiliation" she suffered after she was allegedly "never given the opportunity to prepare for or consent to participate" in an improvised sex scene.

The lawsuit against Kevin Costner explored:

According to The Guardian, LaBella is alleging that on May 2, 2023, she was called in to work on a rape scene. Having shot the same with Hunt the day before, she soon learned that it was an improvisation, and that another character was slated to "rape" Juliette, hers and Hunt's character.

LaBella was reportedly called in after Hunt refused to film the scene and left. She claims to have not been warned that the new male actor would mount her, hold her down, and “violently” push up against her skirt. Furthermore, she alleges that Kevin Costner directed the other actor “to repeatedly perform a violent simulated rape” on her while he “experimented with different takes of the rape action”.

She claims that the unexpected scene is an infringement of the contract negotiated by the stunt performers' union, SAG-AFTRA. Per The Guardian, this states that all performers must be given 48 hours of notice and consent for any scenes involving nudity and sex. She also claims there was no intimacy coordinator, which was mandatory.

Per People Magazine, during the scene in question, Kevin Costner:

“was laughing and smiling during the blocking of the shot in question, had dinner with her stunt coordinator that night, worked additional days on set, and then took her stunt coordinator out to dinner to thank him.”

Celeste Chaney, the intimacy coordinator on the film, has since corroborated LaBella's claims in the amendment filed in June, noting that it was an:

“unscheduled, unplanned violent rape scene” that “was unexpectedly sprung on the actors and stunt professionals”.

LaBella “did not consent to the action that was directed once she was in place," she said, and “she did not have the appropriate modesty garments to ensure adequate coverage, safety, or protection”.

Per People Magazine, however, Kevin Costner is maintaining his innocence:

“Devyn's claims against me are absolutely false, and it is deeply disappointing to me that a woman who worked on our production would claim that I or any other member of my production team would make one of our own feel uncomfortable, let alone suffer the ‘nightmare’ she has invented," he said. “My belief is that Devyn's claims were designed, through the use of false statements and sensationalistic language, to damage my reputation,” he continued. “These allegations are so patently false I can only assume that the purpose was to use this sensationalistic language to embarrass and damage me and the Horizon movies.”

The Yellowstone star claimed that the debacle “has been an absolute nightmare. The truth matters. That's why, even at the high cost of this lawsuit (financial and personal), I will always speak up to defend myself and my crew against false allegations.”

Kevin Costner also attached receipts like photos, declarations from colleagues, and text messages from LaBella that allegedly described the experience as “these wonderful weeks!”

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more.

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