Pauly Shore will soon be donning a singlet and short-shorts to portray 1980s fitness guru Richard Simmons in a new biopic that is currently in development, but it will be without the 75-year-old’s blessing.
“Hi Everybody!” Simmons wrote Wednesday on his social media. “You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read. I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist.”
He added, “I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support.”
Richard Simmons, right, said he didn’t give his permission for the new biopic on his life set to star Pauly Shore. (Evan Agostini/Harry Langdon)
According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is Simmons’ verified Facebook page. Fox News Digital reached out to Simmons’ last known rep, who had no comment.
The movie comes on the heels of a short that Shore filmed about Simmons called “The Court Jester,” which he said he made before Christmas and will be screened at the Sundance Film Festival later this week. It will also be available on YouTube on Saturday.
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Shore, best known for ’90s comedies like “Bio-Dome” and “Encino Man,” explained in an Instagram video Wednesday that he came to play Simmons after he made a series of comical YouTube videos called “Sweatin’ with the Wiez” in his backyard three years ago in which he dressed and acted like Simmons and viewers started comparing the two in memes.
“If there’s ever a documentary on Richard Simmons and Pauly doesn’t get the role, there is no justice in the world,” one commenter wrote on a video in 2020.
On Wednesday, Shore said he’s currently in talks with writers and producers who are pitching a script to him for the biopic.
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“If I get the opportunity to star in a Richard Simmons biopic I will deliver because I take things very seriously,” Shore said on Instagram. “I will immerse myself in the body, soul and spirit of Richard Simmons.”
He added, “Richard, if you’re watching, nothing but love, brother, nothing but love. And let’s see if we can do this, we can merge our forces and we can bring a beautiful, beautiful piece for the people to see and we can spread your word.”
In September, Shore said he had reached out to Simmons about the biopic, “and his representatives said that Richard loves me and my mom (he has known us both for decades), but Richard is politely passing. He said Richard, at this time, wants to remain private, which we all need to respect. Richard, we all miss you, love you very much and want nothing but the best for you. You are in all of our hearts. You can always reach out to me if you change your mind.”
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The biopic is in development by The Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., according to Variety.
“I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’s life with the world,” Shore said in a statement obtained by Variety. “We all need this biopic now more than ever. Simmons represented mental health, getting people in shape and being his authentic silly self! Whenever he was on TV you could never take your eyes off of him and he brought such a joy to his appearances that represented nothing but a good time.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to reps for Shore for comment.
Wolper told Fox News Digital in a statement, “While we would love to have him involved, we respect his desire to privacy and plan to produce a movie that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story.””We know he is deeply private and we would never want to invade that, how ever he is an amazing person, that changed millions of peoples lives and the effect he has had on the world needs to be recognized.”
Simmons first became famous in the late 1970s with “The Richard Simmons Show,” appearances on game shows and late-night TV and his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” workout videos, which were first released in 1988.
Richard Simmons in 2010. (Bobby Bank/WireImage)
After decades in the limelight, Simmons suddenly stopped teaching at his workout studio in 2014 and has retreated from public life altogether. His disappearance sparked a podcast titled “Missing Richard Simmons,” as well as numerous conspiracy theories alleging he was being held hostage in his Hollywood Hills home by his housekeeper.
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In 2022, FOX aired the documentary “TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons,” which explored his rise to stardom and surprising departure from the public eye.
The show prompted Simmons to make a statement on his social media. “Thank you, everyone, for your kindness and love! Love, Richard,” he wrote at the time.
From left: Pauly Shore with Brendan Fraser and Sean Astin in “Encino Man.” (Encino Man Productions/Getty Images)
According to the documentary, Simmons retreated to private life around the time he was told he had a bad knee and needed surgery.
“Doctors told him back in 2014, around the time he disappeared, that he needed a left knee replacement,” the film alleged. “And if he didn’t get one, he might never be able to exercise again. Now, this is key to the disappearance of Richard Simmons. The prospect of surgery, of becoming sedentary, caused Richard to sink into a deep depression… We know still to this day Richard still hasn’t gotten corrective surgery on his left knee. He walks with a cane and that explains a lot. He’s just not the same guy anymore.”
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“He wanted to be remembered as a vibrant, healthy man,” the doc asserted, “not an elderly man with medical problems. Richard wanted to retreat before his image was recast as an old man. And his knee problems were a huge factor in his decision… He had a right knee replacement a few years back. And still needed a left one. He was in a lot of pain.”
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.