Gianni Versace’s boyfriend slams Ricky Martin’s ‘ridiculous’ American Crime Story portrayal
By Will Stroude
The real-life boyfriend of murdered Italian designer Gianni Versace has hit out at Ryan Murphy’s upcoming dramatisation of the fashion icon’s 1997 killing in American Crime Story, saying that is “not a trace of reality” in the upcoming drama series.
Versace’s partner of 15 years, Antonio D’Amico, who is played by Ricky Martin in the true-crime series, has spoken out following the publication of images which show the ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ singer filming scenes in which he discovers the designer’s body on the steps of his home.
“The picture of Ricky Martin holding the body in his arms is ridiculous,” the 58-year-old told The Observer. “Maybe it’s the director’s poetic licence, but that is not how I reacted.”
He added: “The house had stained glass windows so we couldn’t see what had happened from inside, so we had to open the gate,” he said. “I saw Gianni lying on the steps, with blood around him. At that point, everything went dark. I was pulled away, I didn’t see any more.”
Fashion mogul Versace was gunned down on the steps of his Miami villa in July 1997 by US serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who had killed at least four other men in the preceding three months.
Cunanan, 27, took his own life on a Miami houseboat nine days after murdering Versace. The motivation behind the killings remains unknown, but despite numerous rumours and theories over the years, police established that he was not known to Versace before his death.
D’Amico, who was at his partner’s home on the day of his killing, dismissed Ryan Murphy’s upcoming retelling of the crime, saying: “There has been so much written and said about the murder, and thousands of suppositions, but not a trace of reality.”
He also criticised the series for depicting Versace as being uncomfortable with his sexuality, after Martin revealed in an interview earlier this year that he filmed scenes where he touches his lover only for him to reply: “Don’t touch me! The paparazzi!”.
“We lived like a natural couple, there was never a problem,” D’Amico explained. “It was the right moment for him to come out in public, but everyone involved in our world knew. He never tried to hide who he was.”
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is set to air in the US on FX in 2018.
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