Stunt performer sues Kevin Costner over his direction of a rape scene in
his film series 'Horizon'
[May 29, 2025]
By ANDREW DALTON
A stunt performer has sued Kevin Costner, alleging she was subjected to
an unscripted rape scene without proper warning, consent or protocols
while shooting his film “Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 2."
Devyn LaBella filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
It names Costner — the director, star and cowriter of the “Horizon”
series of Westerns — and its production companies as defendants.
“The impact of this impromptu work demand on Ms. LaBella has been
profound, 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,” the lawsuit says.
Costner's attorney said the lawsuit has no merit, and LaBella's
assertions are contradicted by both the facts and her behavior.
A former gymnast, the 34-year-old LaBella has worked steadily as a
Hollywood stunt performer since 2020, with credits including “Barbie”
and “Yellowjackets.”
LaBella's lawsuit says she was the stunt double for one of the “Horizon”
leads, Ella Hunt, throughout the production. The shoot included a
planned sexual assault scene, shot in May of 2023, that LaBella
performed much of because of its violent and physical nature, the
lawsuit says. For that scene, protocols were followed, including
meetings, rehearsals, the presence of an intimacy coordinator and
minimal crew.
But it alleges that the following day, in an unscripted scene with no
warning, rehearsal or choreography, Costner directed an actor to pin
LaBella down on a wagon and simulate rape. The lawsuit says Costner
asked for many takes as he experimented with the violent action and did
not make it clear when a shot was beginning or ending.
“There was no escaping the situation, and all Ms. LaBella could do was
wait for the nightmare to end,” the suit says.
It alleges that safeguards were ignored in violation of union contracts
and industry standards.
Costner's attorney, Martin Singer, said that while Costner wants
everyone to be comfortable on his sets, LaBella's claim has “absolutely
no merit, and it is completely contradicted by her own actions –- and
the facts.”
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Kevin Costner arrives at the 15th Governors Awards on Nov. 17, 2024,
at The Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP,
File)
 “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 in a statement. “That
night, Ms. LaBella had dinner with her supervisor, the stunt
coordinator, and with the assistant stunt coordinator, and she was
in good spirits and made no complaints to them. She continued to
work on the movie for a few more weeks until her wrap date, and she
took the stunt coordinator to a thank-you dinner.”
Singer provided an image of a text message LaBella sent her stunt
coordinator at the end of production saying, “Thank you for these
wonderful weeks!”
Singer said LaBella “is a serial accuser of people in the
entertainment industry,” but her “shakedown tactics won’t work in
this case.”
The lawsuit says the rest of the shoot brought LaBella “continuous
reminders of the shame, humiliation and complete lack of control she
had experienced during the May 2 filming; she experienced sudden
bouts of crying on and off set.”
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they
have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as
LaBella has done.
The lawsuit seeks damages in an amount to be determined at trial,
and it seeks a judge’s order for the defendants to undergo sexual
harassment training, to be required to use an intimacy coordinator
on future productions and to issue LaBella a public apology.
Costner sought to make the ambitious, four-part Western epic
“Horizon: An American Saga" for 30 years. The first part was
released in June of 2024, but plans to release the second
immediately after were put on hold after the poor box office
performance of part one.
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