Kim Novak is not staying quiet about the new film based on her past. The 93-year-old screen legend has openly rejected Sydney Sweeney’s casting in Scandalous!, saying the actress is “totally wrong” to play her. Novak’s objection is not just about looks. She also fears Hollywood will turn a painful chapter of her life into something more sexual and more sensational than she believes it was. That backlash has now put fresh heat on a film that was already walking into delicate territory.
Kim Novak rejects the casting
In recent comments to The Times, Novak said she would have “never approved” the project and made clear she does not see Sweeney as the right fit. ABC News also reported Novak’s blunt criticism, including her remark that Sweeney “sticks out so much above the waist.” Those comments gave the debate an even sharper edge because Novak was not offering gentle concern. She was drawing a hard line.
Her bigger worry seems to be the lens of the movie itself. Novak has argued before that her relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. should not be framed as scandal. In a 2025 interview with The Guardian, she said, “I don’t think the relationship was a scandal,” and described Davis as someone she truly cared about. That helps explain why the film’s title alone appears to bother her.
Sydney Sweeney sees relevance in the story
Sweeney has taken a very different tone. In an earlier interview with People, she said she felt “incredibly honored” to portray Novak and called the story relevant because of the pressure women still face in Hollywood. That framing is easy to understand from a modern studio view. Still, it clashes with Novak’s insistence that this chapter of her life should not be repackaged through a sexed-up or headline-driven filter.
That gap between the two women is now part of the story. Sweeney seems to view the role as a serious acting challenge with present-day meaning. Novak, however, appears to see another version of Hollywood taking control of her image without her blessing. So this is no longer just a casting debate. It is a fight over who gets to define what her life meant.
Scandalous still faces bigger questions
The film itself remains in development, with Sydney Sweeney attached to star and David Jonsson listed as Sammy Davis Jr. IMDb currently lists Colman Domingo and Janet Mock as directors, though some coverage has continued to describe the project mainly through Domingo’s involvement. That alone suggests the production story is still shifting. For a movie about image, control and public judgment, the off-screen narrative is starting to echo the material in uncomfortable ways.
Novak’s comments are what give this story its real force. She is alive, outspoken and unwilling to let Hollywood smooth over her objections. That makes Scandalous! more than another prestige biopic in development. It now carries the risk of looking like a film made about a woman who does not recognize herself in it.
