Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman Respond to 'May December' Criticism

Fualaau called the film a "ripoff" of his real-life relationship with late sex offender Mary Kay Letourneau. Both Moore and Portman say they're sorry Fualaau feels that way.

Talking to Entertainment Tonight at the 2024 81st Golden Globes, Portman insisted the film is "not based on them".

"Obviously, their story influenced the culture that we all grew up in and influenced the idea. But it's fictional characters that are really brought to life by Julianne Moore and Charles Melton so beautifully. It's its own story, it's not meant to be a biopic."

While Moore told the publication that she is "sorry he [Fualaau] feels that way" and that director Todd Haynes "was always very clear when we were working on this movie that this was an original story, this was a story about these characters."

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter earlier in January, Fualaau reveals he was offended by the film and shared that no one contacted him about his story.

"This was our document," continued Moore. "We created these characters from the page and together."

"I'm still alive and well. If they had reached out to me, we could have worked together on a masterpiece. Instead, they chose to do a ripoff of my original story," he says. "I'm offended by the entire project and the lack of respect given to me -- who lived through a real story and is still living it," he continued.

The film - a current awards season favorite - that's loosely based off of the controversial relationship, stars Portman who plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress researching the past of married couple Gracie (Moore) and Joe (Melton), who met when Gracie seduced Joe when he was 13. During the movie, Joe fathers children with his female abuser, whom he eventually marries. The film also features actual quotes from Letourneau and Fualaau's 2018 interview.

"I love movies -- good movies. And I admire ones that capture the essence and complications of real-life events. You know, movies that allow you to see or realize something new every time you watch them," Fualaau adds. "Those kinds of writers and directors -- someone who can do that -- would be perfect to work with, because my story is not nearly as simple as this movie [portrays]."

In reality, Fualaau is Asian/Pacific Islander and was 12 when Letourneau, his teacher, initiated a sexual relationship with him, she was 34. In 1997, Letourneau pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Letourneau continued her relationship with Fualaau, giving birth to two children with him by the time he was 15. Fualaau and Letourneau continued their relationship after she left prison in 2004 and got married the following year. They separated in 2017 and divorced two years later. Letourneau died in 2020 at 58-years-old after battling stage 4 colon cancer for months.