Kevin Costner is firing back at “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2” stuntwoman Devyn LaBella’s sexual harassment lawsuit.
The “Yellowstone” actor, 70, filed a new motion in California Superior Court Tuesday to dismiss LaBella’s May lawsuit against Costner that claims she was forced into an “unscripted” rape scene on the set of his 2024 Western sequel.
Costner called the allegations “patently false” and “deeply disappointing” in his court declaration, according to Variety.
“I can only assume that purpose was to use this sensationalistic language to embarrass and damage me and the ‘Horizon’ movies on an ongoing basis in order to gain a massive and unjustified payday,” Costner wrote.
“Equally as bad, having to read about and address allegations I know to be false involving the words ‘rape’ and ‘assault’ has been an absolute nightmare,” he added.
Costner said that he believes LaBella’s claims “were designed, through the use of false statements and sensationalistic language, to damage my reputation.”
“The truth matters,” he stated. “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.”
Per People, Costner also included dozens of photos of LaBella taken on the set of the film in his declaration. He claimed that the scene in question “was a buildup and foretelling of two violent rape scenes that occur offscreen” and was not an actual “rape scene.”
The Oscar winner further claimed LaBella “was laughing and smiling during the blocking of the shot in question.”
Several crew members backed up Costner’s claims in his motion, including Wade Allen, the stunt coordinator who hired and supervised LaBella, and Roger Ivens, the other performer in the scene.
“At no point that day did she evidence any distress or discomfort, or any concern about what she had been asked to do,” Allen stated, per Variety.
In May, LaBella filed a complaint against Costner and production companies behind the Western film alleging sexual discrimination, harassment, and the creation of a hostile work environment.
In the documents obtained by The Post, LaBella claimed she was “the victim of a violent unscripted, unscheduled rape scene,” which she noted was directed by Costner on May 2, 2023.
LaBella, who doubled for Ella Hunt in the movie, alleged that she “experienced shock, embarrassment and humiliation while attempting to process the situation” in the days that followed after filming.
In June, LaBella amended her lawsuit to include text messages she allegedly exchanged with the film’s intimacy coordinator, Celeste Cheney, the day after the scene in question was shot.
In the texts, LaBella described the alleged incident as an “abomination” and also listed off over a dozen questions about how the scene was handled.
At the end of her message, LaBella allegedly asked Cheney, “Who is gonna take responsibility for the abuse of power, negligence and ignorance on set?”
Costner previously denied LaBella’s accusations in a statement via his lawyer, Marty Singer.
“Ms. LaBella was doing a rehearsal on an Insert Shot for a scripted scene. There was no intimacy or anything sexual in the shot,” Singer told The Post in June.
“Numerous witnesses have contradicted Ms. LaBella’s meritless claims,” Singer added. “We look forward to the swift end of this specious lawsuit.”
After the first “Horizon” film bombed at the box office in May 2024, the sequel was pulled from movie theaters and instead had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in Sept. 2024.
Two more movies in the Western franchise are currently in the works.
