Liza Minnelli shades Renée Zellweger, won’t see ‘Judy’ biopic about her mom
Liza Minnelli has zero interest in seeing “Judy,” the Renée Zellweger-starring biopic about her late mother, legend Judy Garland.
The 73-year-old actress not only said she has no plans to screen the flick, but she tossed a dollop of shade at Zellweger, saying, “I hope [Zellweger] had a good time making it,” according to a new interview with Variety’s Marc Malkin.
It’s not the first time Minnelli, a Best Actress Oscar winner for the 1972 film “Cabaret,” threw cold water on the movie, which focuses on a turbulent time in Garland’s life, including a rocky string of shows at a London nightclub in 1969. In 2018, she responded to rumors of her involvement in the project with a Mariah Carey-worthy “I don’t know her” post on Facebook, saying she had “never met nor spoken to” Zellweger.
“I do not approve nor sanction the upcoming film about Judy Garland in any way,” wrote Minnelli, whose father was director Vincente Minnelli.
Minnelli isn’t the only family member vowing to avoid “Judy.”
In September 2019, Lorna Luft — Garland’s 67-year-old daughter with ex-husband Sidney Luft — also said she would not see “Judy,” saying she is “really protective” of her mother’s legacy and career.
“I feel that if you really want to know about my mom, go see her movies, go listen to her recordings and go watch her television shows, and that’s how you’ll know about her,” she told “Great Britain Today.”
In an interview with UK talk-show personality Lorraine Kelly, Zellweger, 50, said she was aware that Luft and Minnelli weren’t planning on seeing the film.
“I do know that representatives of the family and estate have seen the film, so that makes me smile,” she said in the interview. “It’s an emotional thing, and probably a very complicated thing, but my hope is that it’ll be recognized as this expression of affection and adoration and a proclamation of her importance.”
Zellweger has already nabbed Golden Globe, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of Garland and is considered a shoo-in for Best Actress when the Academy Awards take place on Sunday, Feb. 9.
ABC will broadcast the ceremony live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, starting at 8 p.m.
