Kevin Costner has been sued by a stunt performer on 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 Tuesday in Superior Los Angeles County 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 criminal 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, produced 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 to NBC News 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, “Ms. LaBella’s job was to step in for the actor during physical scenes and to perform the stunt while the cameras were rolling. Such scenes are usually rehearsed and choreographed to ensure safety and accuracy,” the complaint said.
For the first few weeks on set in the spring of 2023 she performed her stunts without incident. Then, things “changed drastically” on May 2, the complaint said.
When Hunt arrived to 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 wasn’t within her scope as a stunt double, but she agreed.
She wasn’t warned about the sexual nature of the scene, and first learned about it when Ivens was already on top of her in a wagon and violently pulled up her skirt, the complaint said, noting 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 mandates a performer doing a scene simulating sex must have prior written consent in the form of a rider that must be provided at least 48 hours before call time. SAG-AFTRA also prohibits that last minute changes.
The movie set failed to supply details of the scene on the call sheet in advance, failed to have rehearsals, did not provide an intimacy coordinator and the set was not closed, the complaint said.
Further, despite the privacy of the scene, it was broadcast publicly on monitors for the entire crew to witness while the set was open. “Indeed, there were multiple onlookers along with the producers watching this scene unfold on monitors in the video village,” the complaint said.
Costner also allegedly failed to consistently announce “action” and “cut” to make it clear when the scene began or ended. The complaint also said that there were no breaks in which the actors separated to reset.
LaBella couldn’t escape the situation, and all she could do was “wait for the nightmare to end,” the complaint said.
The suit noted that the movie set filmed a rape scene the day prior on May 1 in which, in sharp contrast to May 2, all the proper safety protocols were followed.
The aftermath
After the scene, LaBella was left in the wagon alone, feeling shocked, embarrassed, humiliated and holding back tears, the complaint said.
After her stunt coordinator saw she was upset, she was told the production team would be using 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 allegedly “blamed her for not speaking up,” the suit said.
Singer, Costner’s attorney, refuted this 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 days following, the complaint said. She went home to spend time with 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.
In June 2023, LaBella began therapy to address symptoms from the traumatic experience, “including intrusive distressing memories,” sleep disturbance, fears of intimacy, and anxiety.
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 wasn’t hired again for any other projects by her stunt coordinator.
“On that day, I was left exposed, unprotected, and deeply betrayed by a system that promised safety and professionalism. What happened to me shattered my trust and forever changed how I move through this industry,” LaBella said in a statement on Wednesday. “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, that the defendants submit to anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual violence training, that defendants be required to engage an intimacy coordinator on all future productions, and that defendants issue a public apology to LaBella.
