Kim Novak is 93 now, long removed from the Hollywood machinery that once tried to shape her life. Yet the past has a way of resurfacing, and this time it arrives in the form of a biopic she says she never wanted.
The screen legend has sharply criticised the decision to cast Sydney Sweeney as her in 'Scandalous,' a film centred on Novak's relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. Her objection is not subtle. It is pointed, personal, and rooted in her belief that her story risks being misunderstood all over again.
'Totally Wrong' Casting, Says Novak
Speaking to The Times, Novak dismissed the casting outright. 'She was totally wrong to play me,' she said, adding that she would have 'never approved' the project in the first place.
Her concern appears to go beyond a simple mismatch. Novak suggested that Sweeney's public image could distort the portrayal, particularly in a film already framed around a relationship that drew intense scrutiny at the time.
'There's no way it wouldn't be a sexual relationship because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time,' Novak said. 'She sticks out so much above the waist.'
Novak, however, has little incentive to soften anything now. What she seems to be resisting is not just a casting choice, but the idea that her life can be reduced to a particular lens.
A Story Hollywood Once Tried To Bury
The film itself revisits one of the more fraught episodes in mid-century Hollywood. Novak and Davis met in 1956, and their relationship developed quietly before becoming public in 1958. What followed was less romance than reckoning.
At the time, an interracial relationship involving a major studio star was considered a liability. Columbia Pictures, where Novak was under contract, feared the backlash. According to various accounts, studio head Harry Cohn responded with extraordinary aggression, reportedly arranging for Davis to be threatened with violence unless he married a Black woman within 48 hours.
Nine days later, Davis married dancer Loray White. The marriage did not last. It ended in divorce proceedings after nine months, and by then the relationship with Novak had already been forced apart.
It is the kind of story that exposes the uglier side of Hollywood's golden age, where control over image extended well beyond the screen. Novak has consistently pushed back against the framing of that relationship as scandalous. 'I don't think the relationship was scandalous,' she told The Guardian last year. 'He's somebody I really cared about.'
That distinction matters. For Novak, the relationship was personal, not a headline. The film's title alone suggests a version of events she does not recognise.
Sweeney's Perspective And A Generational Divide
Sydney Sweeney has yet to respond directly to Novak's latest remarks, though she previously spoke with enthusiasm about the role. In an interview with People in October, she said she was 'incredibly honoured' to portray Novak and hoped to meet her.
'I think her story is still very relevant today,' Sweeney said, pointing to themes of scrutiny, control and the pressures placed on women in Hollywood. 'I relate to it in a lot of different ways.'
That generational contrast is hard to ignore. For Sweeney, the project appears to be an opportunity to revisit a story through a modern lens. For Novak, it risks reopening something that was never fully hers to control in the first place.
The tension sits right there. One actor looking to interpret, another insisting on ownership.
A Film Caught Between Past And Present
Scandalous has reportedly stalled in development, though it remains attached to director Colman Domingo, with British actor David Jonsson linked to play Davis. Whether the project moves forward may now depend as much on public reaction as studio appetite.
Biopics have long walked a fine line between tribute and reinvention. They can illuminate, but they can also flatten, especially when the subject is still alive to challenge the narrative. Novak's intervention cuts through that ambiguity. She is not offering a gentle correction. She is rejecting the premise outright.
What makes this striking is not simply the disagreement over casting. It is the broader question of who gets to define a life story. Hollywood has rarely been comfortable ceding that control, even when history suggests it should.
Novak's career unfolded in an era when studios dictated image, relationships and even personal decisions. Decades later, she is watching a version of her life being assembled without her approval. The parallels are difficult to miss.
Novak's fear that the film will lean heavily on sexuality speaks to a familiar pattern, one that often overshadows complexity in favour of something more marketable.
For now, Novak has made her position unmistakably clear. She does not recognise herself in this project. And she is no longer willing to stay quiet about it.
