The film's credits do say that, and it was reported this way in the papers. Mind you, the New Zealand authorities have since denied any such condition had been made, but it was certainly what Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh believed when they wrote the script.
However, re: Greek tragedy - Aristotle demanded that the hero of one should be brought down by a mixture of external circumstance and his own flaws. Homophobic culture certainly counts as an external circumstance in this case (though it's interesting that Jackson presents it as strictly class bound - all the characters who freak out homophobically are middle and upper class - Juliet's father, Pauline's therapist whom Juliet's father recommended - whereas the working class Riepers don't show any of this; Honora is upset that Pauline's grades are going down and that Pauline isn't talking to her anymore, not about Juliet, and Pauline's father is so clueless as to what Juliet's father means with "unhealthy" that he replies that yes, the girls should do more outdoors activities and get more fresh air). As does Juliet's father losing his job and getting transferred back go England, which is the trigger for the last chain of events. But the film definitely doesn't tell a "homophobia made them do it" story, at least in my opinion (views of the beholder, etc); we see a varietyof reasons, including increasing narcissism a deux and an enormous capacity for self delusion; Pauline thinking Juliet's parents, who are on the brink of divorce and have made it clear that they'll palm off Juliet to the next overseas health resort anyway, would basically adopt her and let her be with Juliet if her mother was dead is the last and biggest manifestation of it.
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However, re: Greek tragedy - Aristotle demanded that the hero of one should be brought down by a mixture of external circumstance and his own flaws. Homophobic culture certainly counts as an external circumstance in this case (though it's interesting that Jackson presents it as strictly class bound - all the characters who freak out homophobically are middle and upper class - Juliet's father, Pauline's therapist whom Juliet's father recommended - whereas the working class Riepers don't show any of this; Honora is upset that Pauline's grades are going down and that Pauline isn't talking to her anymore, not about Juliet, and Pauline's father is so clueless as to what Juliet's father means with "unhealthy" that he replies that yes, the girls should do more outdoors activities and get more fresh air). As does Juliet's father losing his job and getting transferred back go England, which is the trigger for the last chain of events. But the film definitely doesn't tell a "homophobia made them do it" story, at least in my opinion (views of the beholder, etc); we see a varietyof reasons, including increasing narcissism a deux and an enormous capacity for self delusion; Pauline thinking Juliet's parents, who are on the brink of divorce and have made it clear that they'll palm off Juliet to the next overseas health resort anyway, would basically adopt her and let her be with Juliet if her mother was dead is the last and biggest manifestation of it.