Richard Simmons Blasts New Film About His Life: ‘I Have Never Given My Permission For This Movie’

After footage of Pauly Shore playing fitness guru Richard Simmons in his new short film, The Court Jester, Simmons blasted the project in a Facebook post.

In addition to the short film, there have also been rumors flying about a possible full-length feature about the fitness icon.

“You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore,” Simmons said. “I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read.”

Later in the post, he explained that he no longer has a publicist or a manager and intends to lead a quiet life away from the public eye.

The movie idea has been in development with the Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, which has released a statement about the film.

“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,” they write. “We know he is deeply private, and we would never want to invade that, however, he is an amazing person, that changed millions of people’s lives and the effect he has had on the world needs to be recognized.”

Shore, who plays Simmons in the film, claimed that he tried to reach out to Simmons, but he said that he did not want to be involved.

Shore noted that he hoped that Simmons would come around and participate in the project later. “My attitude is: If we build it, he’ll come. That’s my hope,” Shore told Entertainment Weekly. “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.”

The short film The Court Jester is a comedic biography that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19.

In 2016, Simmons closed his L.A. fitness studio after 40 years in business.