New Evidence Presented In ‘Horizon’ Stunt Double’s Lawsuit Against Kevin Costner
on Jun 24, 2025
Alleged Text Messages With Film’s Intimacy Coordinator Submitted As Evidence Against Costner
While Kevin Costner’s lawyer claims the Academy Award winner is being sued by a “serial accuser of people in the entertainment industry,” the alleged victim of a “hostile work environment” on the set of Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2 has filed new evidence.
Stunt double Devyn LaBella was hired onto the film while it was in production in 2023, prominently working as the stunt double for actress Ella Hunt in Costner’s troubled four-part Western film series.
In late May of this year, LaBella filed a lawsuit against Costner, alleging she is “the victim of a violent unscripted, unscheduled rape scene directed by Kevin Costner.”
On June 18, she amended her lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of California in the County of Los Angeles, adding evidence in the form of text messages.
The Alleged Incident
Reader discretion is advised: the following information and excerpts from the lawsuit are of a graphic and intimate nature.
On May 2, 2023, LaBella arrived on set expecting to “perform a non-intimate scene as a double for [Ella] Hunt,” according to the lawsuit.
However, the lawsuit alleges that Costner had requested for additional scenes to be shot, without notice of physical action or provisions in place for an intimacy coordinator.
While LaBella’s lawsuit says she did not know at the time that Ella Hunt had allegedly refused to do the scenes, LaBella’s lawsuit claims that Ella Hunt “became visibly upset and walked off the set, refusing to do the scene … 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.”
Among the scenes set to be shot was one involving the actor Roger Ivens, who is not among the defendants in LaBella’s lawsuit.
“In these new scenes, Mr. [Roger] Ivens was to climb on top of Ms. Hunt, violently raking up her skirt,” the lawsuit details. “Defendant Costner, who was present on the set, specifically added this scene, which varied from the scene filmed the day before which had not involved pulling up the actor’s skirt.”
The scene shot the day before, on May 1, 2023, had an intimacy coordinator present, and saw Costner rehearse the scene privately with the involved talent.
When she was asked to stand-in for Hunt to set up the scene, LaBella says she complied, even though stand-in work was outside of the role of a stunt double.
Her “involvement in the impromptu shot would go beyond standing in as a standard body-double,” the lawsuit claims. “She was not warned or prepared for Mr. Ivens to perform or engage in any action on top of her and first learned that Ivens would mount her and violently pull her skirt up when he was already on top of her doing so.”
“As filming began, Ms. LaBella laid down in the wagon as Defendant Costner instructed. Costner approached her and directed that she hang her boots out of the wagon as the camera team and crew continued to test out and frame their shots … Then, 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. As directed by Costner, this unscripted, unrehearsed scene consisted of Mr. Ivens mounting Ms. LaBella while miming the unbuttoning of his pants, and using his body and arms forcibly pinning down Ms. LaBella, who was on her back underneath him. Mr. Ivens violently rustled Ms. LaBella’s skirt up as if trying to penetrate her against her will.”
Reflecting upon this alleged incident, the lawsuit says, “There was no escaping the situation, and all [LaBella] could do was wait for the nightmare to end.”
In the days following the impromptu rape scene, LaBella met with the stunt coordinators on the film as well as the intimacy coordinator to inform them about what happened on May 2, 2023.
The lawsuit claims her ability to work was impeded upon, saying she “experienced 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.”
Production was to wrap on May 12, but, allegedly, on an unspecified day after May 3, LaBella flew home for a few days to “help her regain control.”
Returning to set, she felt “the production team was now extra careful” around her, the lawsuit states. “She was directed to stay alone in her trailer and not be present on set even though this resulted in her being dressed in costume for full days and then not used.”
When the film wrapped production, she was not hired to return for Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 3, which is currently in production despite Horizon 2 only premiering on the film festival circuit after having its scheduled wide theatrical release delayed.
LaBella’s lawsuit makes no mention of Horizon 1 and Horizon 2 being shot simultaneously.
Read the full lawsuit, as submitted on May 27, here.
The New Evidence
On June 18, LaBella amended her lawsuit filing to include text messages.
These messages, which were first shared by Us Weekly, allegedly show her conversation with the Horizon film series’ intimacy coordinator, named Celeste Chaney.
“Hi Celeste it’s devyn labella,” reads the first text, allegedly sent on May 3, 2023. Continuing, LaBella texted:
“I wanted to discuss yesterdays [sic[ abomination when we both have a chance … Are you around today? … I was put in a really wrong position and it’s really affected me”
Celeste allegedly replied, “Oh no, I’m sorry to hear this, Devyn. Yes, of course. Let’s talk through it.”
Later that day, Celeste allegedly reached out to LaBella with a text message, asking, “Hey Devyn, how did the rest of today go?”
LaBella said she could catch the intimacy coordinator up on the rest of the day’s shoot in a phone call. It is unclear from the text messages provided, as seen on TMZ, if that phone call occurred, but the screenshots of the text messages then show a list of 15 concerns that LaBella had regarding her involvement in the Horizon film.
The list is, allegedly, as follows (preserving capitalization, grammar, and spelling from the alleged text messages):
- why was there no intimacy coordinator?
- why was a stunt double doing this non stunt work- especially given the sensitivity of it?
- why wasn’t there any preparations going into the scene?
- why wasn’t there any preparations in the wardrobe department to prevent the Juliette double from being exposed?
- why was sensitive and explicit action commanded when it wasn’t in the script?
- why did the rehearsal not have a beginning middle or end?
- why wasn’t it a closed set?
- how did lining up a shot turn into a rape sequence?
- why was a man from the camera department directing this non scripted action?
- why was this being recorded like a formal rehearsal but not treated like a formal rehearsal? (People not quiet, no calling Action or Cut, open set)
- why was I expected to speak up I wasn’t comfortable when I no real opportunity to even be asked if I was ok with this?
- who was directing the impromptu sensitive action?
- how did we end up with an exposed stunt double simulating a rape scene with unscripted explicate action and no intimacy cordinator, preparations, or explanation on an open set?
- who is gonna take responsibility for the abuse ion power, negligence and ignorance on set?
- what will be done?
Notably, some of the questions (such as No. 9 and No. 12) in this list appear to contradict her lawsuit’s claim that it was Costner who directed the May 2, 2023 scene.
In a later text, Celeste can be seen responding, “From what I can tell by interviewing those I’ve spoken to, no one knew this was going to happen.”
Costner’s Lawyer Responds
Costner is represented by Marty Singer, who told TMZ in response to the new evidence LaBella filed:
“Ms. LaBella was doing a rehearsal on an Insert Shot for a scripted scene. There was no intimacy or anything sexual in the shot. There was tugging on a dress while she was fully clothed in a dress with long bloomers lying down next to a male actor.”
He goes on to say that LaBella’s claims have been discredited by many witnesses.
“Numerous witnesses have contradicted Ms. LaBella’s meritless claims,” Singer stated. “She herself texted her supervisor after she wrapped stating, ‘Thank you for these wonderful weeks.'”
These comments follow previous dismissals of LaBella’s claims, which were given to the Los Angeles Times.
The Fate Of Costner’s ‘Horizon’ Series
Presently, the second installment in Kevin Costner’s Western film series Horizon: An American Saga is still awaiting a wide release — even after it premiered out of the main selection of the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
Horizon 1 premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before being given a theatrical release the next month, in June.
Horizon 2 was scheduled to open just a few months after Horizon 1, but was pulled from Warner Bros.’ release schedule following the first chapter’s cool reception, receiving only $38 million against its combined $100 million budget for the simultaneous production of the first two parts.
Earlier in May of 2025, one of the film series’ investing partners and its distributor filed for arbitration proceedings against Costner in an effort to recoup funds.
Related: Kevin Costner’s Troubled ‘Horizon’ Film Series Held Up In Legal Battle
This is a developing story.
