Fans are eagerly anticipating the upcoming second season of American Crime Story, which will tell the story of the 1997 murder of Gianni Versace, but the late designer’s family may not be as excited as the rest of us.
“The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace,” the family declared in a statement on Monday. “Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is partly based, nor has it taken part in the writing of the screenplay, this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction.”
FX responded with a statement of its own, saying, “Like the original American Crime Story series The People v. O.J. Simpson, which was based on Jeffrey Toobin’s non-fiction bestseller The Run of His Life, FX’s follow-up, The Assassination Of Gianni Versace, is based on Maureen Orth’s heavily researched and authenticated non-fiction bestseller Vulgar Favors, which examined the true-life crime spree of Andrew Cunanan. We stand by the meticulous reporting of Ms. Orth.”
Versace’s family members are not the first to speak out against the show, however. Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s boyfriend who will be played by Ricky Martin in the series, saw a production image from the set that he immediately denounced.
“The picture of Ricky Martin holding the body [of Gianni] in his arms is ridiculous,” D’Amico told The Guardian last year. “Maybe it’s the director’s poetic license, but that is not how I reacted.”
As for Donatella Versace, who will be portrayed by Penelope Cruz on ACS, the late designer’s sister reportedly made requests about how her children would be depicted. Producer Ryan Murphy said that he listened to her wishes, out of respect for her as a parent.
What will the family think after seeing the final product? We’ll find out when The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story premieres on January 17 at 10 pm on FX.
