Movies

Richard Simmons responds to Pauly Shore biopic: 'I have never given my permission for this movie'

"I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support," the fitness personality wrote on Facebook.

By Wesley Stenzel

Updated on January 17, 2024 06:15PM EST

After EW revealed footage of Pauly Shore playing Richard Simmons in the short film The Court Jester along with news of a potential feature-length film, the real fitness personality is speaking out about the project.

"Hi Everybody!" Simmons wrote on Facebook. "You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read."

Simmons went on to explain why he wasn’t involved in the project. "I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support."

Richard Simmons Pauly Shore — Richard Simmons and Pauly Shore.
Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic; BLUE EYED JACK PRODUCTION; The Lewis Brothers/ Youtube

EW has reached out to Shore for comment.

The Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. that is developing a feature version of the project, said in a statement, "While we would love to have [Simmons] involved, we respect his desire to privacy and plan to produce a movie that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story. We know he is deeply private and we would never want to invade that, however he is an amazing person, that changed millions of peoples lives and the effect he has had on the world needs to be recognized."

Shore previously told EW that he tried to contact Simmons regarding the project, but he never actually spoke to him. "His people responded and they said that he loves me and he loves my mom [the late Mitzi Shore] and the [Comedy] Store and all that stuff, but at this time he just wants to lay low and not really be involved. That was his response," the comedian said.

Shore also said that he hopes Simmons will come around to appreciating the project. "He has written a book and there's a lot of stuff out there, so if we stay consistent to his story, once we start writing it, I think he'll be all right," he told EW. "But my attitude is: If we build it, he'll come. That's my hope. My hope is that he sees that it looks good, it feels good, it's right. And then he might just say, f--- it at some point — 'I'm down. I'll help you guys, I'll be part of it, and I'll hold your hand.' We'll all hold each other's hands and we'll work together. Richard Simmons was a very, very, very special man, and he had a huge message. And I think that message now is even bigger than it was back then. I just do."

The Court Jester is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this Friday, and will be available to stream that night on YouTube. You can watch the trailer for the short film below.