Lucie Arnaz Pours Cold Water on ‘Being the Ricardos’

Here’s the unsolicited hot take: Lucie Arnaz just scorched Aaron Sorkin’s latest, labeling Being the Ricardos “a crock of poop.” In a sit-down with CNN’s pop-culture segment (also covered by People Magazine), the 75-year-old daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz clapped back at the biopic’s imagined backstage drama. According to Arnaz, the film’s depiction of her parents’ relationship veers so far from reality that it borders on “fiction masquerading as fact.”

Let’s unpack this without trying too hard. Sorkin’s ambitious Amazon Studios release aimed to dramatize one high-pressure week on the I Love Lucy set, with Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem channeling the comedy duo’s legendary chemistry. Critics have praised Kidman’s “spot-on physical mimicry” (Variety) and the script’s “rapid-fire dialogue” (Hollywood Reporter). But Lucie insists the screenplay manufactures tension her folks never had. She points to the movie’s insinuation of an affair, the feverish marital blow-ups, even the feud with studio execs—none of which lines up with family archives, personal letters or on-the-record interviews dating back to the 1960s.

Arnaz’s take is refreshingly blunt. “My parents were pros,” she told CNN, “not these melodramatic caricatures. This whole storyline is a crock of poop.” She also questioned the timeline tweaks that mash events from decades into one “juicy” week, arguing it muddles more than it illuminates. Yet she stopped short of full dismissal, praising Kidman’s commitment: “She captured Mom’s timing, but no writer could bottle my mom’s spontaneity.”

So where’s the truth? Lucie insists that behind every laugh track and live audience cue, Lucy and Desi balanced studio politics and family life pretty gracefully. Contrary to the film’s final act, the real duo reportedly never stormed off set in tears or traded incendiary barbs with costumers. Arnaz even shared unpublished anecdotes—like her mom sending her onstage with a red wig to cheer up Desi during a real rough patch—which, she says, would’ve made a way more charming encore.

And yet, this flick still has Oscar buzz. Industry insiders reckon Sorkin’s name alone locks in awards-season chatter, even if the facts get fuzzy. With Amazon pushing hard, Being the Ricardos is positioned as a tribute—just not the one the family signed off on.

Anyway, that’s the deal. Do with it what you will. If this flick starts trending as “defamation in technicolor,” don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, CNN
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed