Kim Novak expresses concern over Sydney Sweeney biopic depicting romance with Sammy Davis Jr.

Kim Novak has expressed concern over the upcoming biopic Scandalous, which will dramatise her relationship with singer Sammy Davis Jr. in the late 1950s.

The 92-year-old actress, best known for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, said she fears the film may oversimplify their romance.

“I don’t think the relationship was scandalous,” Novak told The Guardian. “He’s somebody I really cared about. 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.”

Novak added that she is anxious about how the story may be presented on screen, noting: “I’m concerned they’re going to make it all sexual reasons.”

The film stars Sydney Sweeney as Novak and David Jonsson as Davis, with Colman Domingo making his directorial debut.

The relationship between Novak and Davis drew widespread controversy at the time due to racist opposition to interracial relationships.

A Gallup poll in 1958 found only 4% of Americans approved of interracial marriages, nearly a decade before the 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court ruling legalised them nationwide.

While Davis reportedly admitted to biographer Burt Boya that part of his motivation was to challenge racist attitudes, sources such as Laurence Leamer’s Hitchcock’s Blondes highlight that his affection for Novak was genuine.

Novak herself recalled resisting pressure to end the romance, saying: “Something inside of me rebelled when I was told not to see him. I didn’t think it was anybody’s business.”

Scandalous is set to explore this controversial chapter of Hollywood history, though Novak’s comments raise questions about how faithfully her experience will be depicted.

The actress will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Venice International Film Festival, where a documentary about her life, Kim Novak’s Vertigo, will also premiere.