Kim Novak took a swing at Sydney Sweeney after the star was cast to play her in the upcoming biopic Scandalous about her 1950s love affair with Sammy Davis Jr.
In a new interview with The Times of London, the 93-year-old Hollywood icon said that Sweeney, 28, is ‘totally wrong’ for the role and that she ‘would never have approved’ of her casting.
She then appeared to shame Sweeney’s famous cleavage as she remarked that the actress, unlike herself, ‘sticks out so much above the waist.’
Novak also expressed concern that the film, which was reportedly stalled before production could even begin, will focus too much on the sexual side of her romance with Davis instead of how their attraction was based on how much ‘in common’ they had with each other.
‘There’s no way it wouldn’t be a sexual relationship because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time. She was totally wrong to play me.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Sweeney for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Kim Novak took a swing at Sydney Sweeney after the star was cast to play her in the upcoming biopic Scandalous about her love affair with Sammy Davis Jr; seen in 2025
The 93-year-old Hollywood icon said that Sweeney, 28, is ‘totally wrong’ for the role and that she ‘would never have approved’ of her casting; Sweeney seen in January 2026
Scandalous was revealed to be in the early stages of development with first reports of the project in October 2024.
At the time, it was revealed that Colman Domingo was set to make his feature directorial debut with the period drama starring Sweeney as Novak and David Jonsson, 32, as the late Davis Jr.
The film was set to tell the story of the romance between Novak and Davis Jr. and how they faced intense racial prejudice and public backlash when their relationship came to light.
During the same interview with The Times of London, Novak spoke about how interracial relationships were taboo in Hollywood at the time and reflected on how their relationship drew fierce racist opposition.
The pair were drawn to each other because they wanted to prove themselves as actors, but then were forced to end their relationship.
‘Because of the color of his skin people did terrible things,’ Novak recalled as she gave an example of people giving him beer with urine in it.
She then appeared to shame Sweeney’s famous cleavage as she remarked that the actress, unlike herself, ‘sticks out so much above the waist’; Sweeney seen in 2025
Novak expressed concern that the movie would focus too much on the sexual dynamics in her relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957
When movie executives learned of their relationship in 1957, the couple were forced to break up as they feared an interracial marriage.
Columbia Pictures boss Henry Cohn, who had Novak under contract, was worried that their interracial relationship would be bad for business.
According to multiple reports – including Novak’s, per The Times of London – Cohn threatened Davis with mob violence if they did not separate.
Novak also denied that she and Davis Jr. were planning to get married while remembering the star, who died at age 64 in 1990.
‘No, no. I mean, he loved me. I cared for him deeply. But at that time I never wanted to marry anybody,’ she insisted.
Last year, Novak also voiced her concerns and expressed her disdain for the film and, particularly, about the movie title.
‘I don’t think the relationship was scandalous,’ the silver screen star told The Guardian in August 2025.
During the same interview with The Times of London , Novak spoke about how interracial relationships were taboo in Hollywood at the time and reflected on how their relationship drew fierce racist opposition
It was revealed in 2024 that Sweeney would be starring opposite David Jonsson as the late Sammy Davis Jr. in the biopic, which is reportedly stalled; Jonsson seen in February 2026
‘He’s somebody I really cared about,’ Novak continued.
‘We had so much in common, including that need to be accepted for who we are and what we do, rather than how we look,’ she added. ‘But I’m concerned they’re going to make it all sexual reasons.’
Despite Novak’s objections, Sweeney was already starting to get into character last year and said she was ‘incredibly honored’ to play Novak in October 2025.
‘I think her story is still very relevant today in that she dealt with Hollywood and scrutiny with her relationships and her own private life and the control of her image,’ Sweeney told People at the time.
‘And I think that for me, I relate to it in a lot of different ways.’
Read the full article here
