Gucci family hits out at Lady Gaga’s new film for trying to profit from their tragedy
MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: Lady Gaga is seen filming ‘House of Gucci’ on March 11, 2021 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
The Gucci family has criticised Lady Gaga’s new film House of Gucci for delving into their tragedy “to make a profit”.
The film, due for release later this year, tells the real-life story of the murder that rocked the Gucci family in 1995 when Maurizio Gucci, grandson of Guccio Gucci, was shot dead on the steps of an office building in Milan.
Adam Driver will play Maurizio in the film, while Lady Gaga will play his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani, who later served time in prison after she was accused of arranging his murder.
Patrizia Gucci, a second cousin of Maurizio’s, slammed House of Gucci in an interview with the Associated Press.
“We are truly disappointed. I speak on behalf of the family,” Gucci said on Wednesday (14 April).
“They are stealing the identity of a family to make a profit, to increase the income of the Hollywood system… Our family has an identity, privacy.
“We can talk about everything. But there is a borderline that cannot be crossed.”
Patrizia Gucci said she contacted director Ridley Scott’s wife Giannina Facio asking what the film would be covering, but she did not receive a response.
In the early 2000s, members of the Gucci family met with Facio to discuss another project focusing on the fashion brand. The family is now concerned about the direction House of Gucci will take as nobody from the production team tried to contact them to hear their side of the story.
Patrizia Gucci’s concerns have not been assuaged by paparazzi photos taken on the set of the upcoming biopic.
“My grandfather was a very handsome man, like all the Guccis, and very tall, blue eyes and very elegant,” she said.
“He is being played by Al Pacino, who is not very tall already, and this photo shows him as fat, short, with sideburns, really ugly. Shameful, because he doesn’t resemble him at all,” she said.
Lady Gaga film House of Gucci has faced criticism from Patrizia Reggiani
Lady Gaga’s turn as Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci will mark her first film role since A Star is Born, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Reggiani hit out at Gaga in an interview with Italian news agency Ansa in March, saying the singer didn’t try to meet with her before making the film.
“I’m annoyed by the fact that Lady Gaga is portraying me in the new Ridley Scott film without even having the course or the good sense to come and meet me,” she said.
“It’s nothing to do with money because I won’t be taking a single cent from the film. It’s about common sense and respect.”
House of Gucci is currently expected to be released in November 2021.
