The two actresses speak up after Mary Kay Letourneau's ex, Vili Fualaau, claimed in a recent interview that he was 'offended by the entire project and the lack of respect given to me.'
- Jan 9, 2024
AceShowbiz - Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman have responded to Vili Fualaau's criticism of "May December". The two actresses insisted that the movie is an original story after Mary Kay Letourneau's ex claimed the film exploited his life.
"Aww, I'm very sorry that he feels that way," the 63-year-old told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet at the 81st Golden Globes on Sunday, January 7. "I mean, Todd [Haynes] was always very clear when we were working on this movie that this was an original story, this was a story about these characters. So that's how we looked at it too. This was our document, we created these characters from the page and together."
Natalie also echoed the sentiment. "I'm so sorry to hear that," she said. "It's not based on them, it's, you know, obviously their story influenced the culture that we all grew up in and influenced the idea. But it's fictional characters that are really brought to life by Julianne Moore and Charles Melton so beautifully, and yeah, it's its own story, it's not meant to be a biopic."
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that was published earlier this month, Vili said he was "offended" by "May December". He argued, "I'm still alive and well... If they had reached out to me, we could have worked together on a masterpiece. Instead, they chose to do a ripoff of my original story."
"I'm offended by the entire project and the lack of respect given to me," Vili, who was 12 years old when he entered a sexual relationship with then-34-year-old Mary, added, "Who lived through a real story and is still living it."
In "May December", Natalie plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress researching the past of married couple Gracie (Julianne) and Joe (Charles Melton), who met when Gracie seduced Joe when he was 13. In the film, Joe fathers children with his female abuser, whom he eventually marries.
