“House of Gucci” has been criticized by the heirs of the luxurious Italian fashion house, who alleged that it depicted family members as “hooligans.”
In a letter first published by Italian news agency ANSA, the family said they had been portrayed as “ignorant.”
“The Gucci family reserve the right to take every initiative to protect their name and image, and those of their loved ones,” the letter read.
The film stars US singer and actress Lady Gaga, who plays Patrizia Reggiani, a woman convicted after killing her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci in 1995. Its cast also includes Adam Driver as the heir to the fashion house, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino.
The Gucci family said the film showed the 1953-1986 company’s president Aldo Gucci, played by Pacino, as “thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them.” They added that both Aldo and other relatives were attributed events, attitudes and a tone that “never belonged to them.”
In the letter, the millionaire fashion house’s heirs said such representation was “extremely painful in a human point of view,” stating that was an insult to the legacy on which the Gucci brand is currently built.
The family also stated that they had been offended by how the film depicts Reggiani.
She “is portrayed not just in the film, but also in statements from cast members, as a victim trying to survive in a male and male chauvinist corporate culture,” they wrote.
“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” the Gucci family said, claiming the fashion house was “inclusive” when they were in charge.
The company’s heirs have not taken any legal action against the film or its producers.
House of Gucci has received mixed reviews since its UK release in late November. The film is based on Sara Gay Forden’s 2001 book “The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed.”
But it’s not the first time it has faced negative comments. Patrizia Gucci, who spoke to the Associated Press on behalf of the family, accused director Scott of stealing their identity for profit.
