May December Stars Address Recent Criticism of the Film

May December's True Story Explained

May December stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore address the recent criticism of the film by Vili Fualaau. Director Todd Haynes' latest film, released on Netflix in December, chronicles the twisted dynamic that forms after an actress enters the lives of a married couple in order to study them for a movie role.

Charles Melton as Joe looking tired and listless while lying on the couch in May December

May December is loosely inspired by real events and the controversial relationship between Mary Kay Letourneau and Fualaau in the mid-90s, when Letourneau, a grown woman, seduced and entered into a relationship with Fualaau when he was only 12 years old.

Now, following Fualaau's recent criticism of the film in which he states that he's 'offended by the entire project,' May December stars Portman and Moore offer their responses during a recent interview with ET on the red carpet of the 81st Golden Globes. While lamenting Fualaau's feelings about the film, both actors stress the differences between the film and the real-life events. Check out the actors' comments below:

Is Vili Fualaau's Criticism Justified?

During an interview with THR earlier this month, Fualaau made his feelings on May December clear, saying, '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 -- who lived through a real story and is still living it.'

Letourneau was sentenced to seven years in prison in 1997 for second-degree child rape, but her relationship with Fualaau continued, with the pair even having the first of their two children together when Fualaau was only 15 years old. Letourneau and Fualaau divorced in 2017, and she passed away in 2020. The backstory between Joe and Gracie in May December, which serves as the basis of the movie for which Elizabeth is preparing, is very clearly inspired by this real-life story.

Portman and Moore's comments, however, do highlight the fact that May December is not a retelling of the story of Letourneau and Fualaau. Characters' backstories may have similarities to the real-life tabloid romance, but the actual plot of the film itself and the twisted dynamic that forms between Elizabeth, Gracie, and Joe is one of pure fiction. Clearly, however, Fualaau's response to May December reinforces that basing a film on real events can be a challenging line to walk.

Response from May December Stars

Natalie Portman: I’m so sorry to hear that. 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.'

Julianne Moore: 'Aww, I'm very sorry that he feels that way. 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.'