The heirs of Italian fashion house Gucci have criticized Ridley Scott's House of Gucci movie for allegedly depicting members of their family as "hooligans".
The film stars Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, who was convicted of having her husband and fashion heir Maurizio Gucci assassinated in 1995.
It follows Gaga's character's plot to murder Maurizio over fears their daughter wouldn't receive her $170 million inheritance and she wouldn't be entitled to a fair divorce settlement.
Maurizio's murder sent shockwaves through the fashion world after he was gunned down on the steps of his office in Milan.
Patrizia was convicted of hiring hitmen to murder him in cold blood after he left her for another woman. The socialite - who became known as the Black Widow - spent 18 years behind bars for arranging his murder.
Grammy and Oscar-winning star Gaga stars alongside big names Al Pacino, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons, and Jared Leto.
Since the movie's hotly-anticipated release, the Gucci family have slammed the film in a scathing letter first published by Italy's ANSA news agency, per BBC News.
In their statement, the family said they were portrayed as "ignorant" in the film, which stars Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci alongside Jared Leto and Al Pacino as other members of the family.
"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.
They added that Aldo Gucci (played by Pacino), who was company chairman from 1953 to 1986, and other relatives were portrayed "as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them, attributing to the protagonists [and] events, a tone and an attitude that never belonged to them."
"This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today," they added.
The family stated that they were particularly offended by the depiction of Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), who they said "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".
"This couldn't be further from the truth," the statement added.
The Gucci family has not themselves been connected to the luxury designer fashion brand since the 1990s.
No legal action is currently being taken by the family against the film and its producers.
Scott, speaking on BBC Radio 4 last week, dismissed previous criticism made by Patrizia Gucci, Maurizio's second cousin, when she recently spoke to the Associated Press on behalf of the family. She accused the director of "stealing the identity of a family to make a profit".
"I don't engage with that," Scott said. "You have to remember that one Gucci was murdered and another [Aldo] went to jail for tax evasion, so you can't be talking to me about making a profit. As soon as you do that you become part of the public domain."
