Al Pacino too ‘fat, short and ugly’ for role in Lady Gaga film, Gucci family claim

Patrizia Reggiani also said that House of Gucci co-star Jared Leto left her ‘offended’

Al Pacino is too “fat, short and ugly” to star in a new Gucci film with Lady Gaga, claims one of the heirs to the fashion empire.

House of Gucci stars Lady Gaga as the glamorous felon Patrizia Reggiani, who served 16 years in prison for arranging the murder of her husband Maurizio Gucci, who will be played in the film by Adam Driver.

The star-studded movie, which is directed by Ridley Scott, also features Jared Leto, Salma Hayek and Jeremy Irons among its supporting cast.

Pacino plays Aldo Gucci in the film, who inherited the Gucci empire from its founding father, Guccio Gucci, and helped transform it into an international brand.

In a new interview, Patrizia Gucci, one of the descendants of Guccio Gucci, has called on Scott and the film’s cast to better respect the Gucci legacy. She specifically addressed certain actors in the film, who she believes do not look like their real-life counterparts.

“My grandfather was a very handsome man, like all the Guccis, and very tall, blue eyes and very elegant,” Gucci told the Associated Press. “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.”

Gucci also expressed concern with the casting of Leto, who portrays Paolo Gucci.

“Horrible, horrible, I still feel offended,” Gucci said of Leto’s physical appearance in the film, which includes unkempt hair.

Al Pacino in 2020, and Adam Driver and Lady Gaga in House of Gucci (Frazer Harrison/Getty/MGM)

Gucci additionally claimed that the filmmakers are “stealing the identity of a family to make a profit, to increase the income of the Hollywood system,” adding: “Our family has an identity, privacy. We can talk about everything, but there is a borderline that cannot be crossed.”

In March, Patrizia Reggiani herself criticised Lady Gaga for not meeting with her before playing her in the film.

Read about the real Reggiani and the story of her imprisonment here.

House of Gucci will be released in cinemas on 24 November.