Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman Address “May December” Criticism from Vili Fualaau

"It's not based on them," Portman said while discussing 'May December' at the 2024 Golden Globes

Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman are responding to criticism from Vili Fualaau, a man whose real life story loosely inspired their latest project.

On Sunday, the 2024 Golden Globes were held by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the iconic Beverly Hilton. Ahead of the ceremony, May December actresses Moore, 63, and Portman, 42, gave separate red carpet interviews to Entertainment Tonight regarding the Netflix film and controversy surrounding it.

Related: 2024 Golden Globe Nominations: Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Fantasia Barrino and More Score Nods

Moore told ET she was “sorry” to learn that Fualaau, 40, was not pleased with the film.

"I mean, 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,” Moore said referring to the May December director. “So that's how we looked at it, too. This was our document, we created these characters from the page and together."

The movie is loosely inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, a woman who died of cancer at 58 in 2020, and '90s tabloid culture in general. She was a Seattle school teacher sentenced to seven years in prison on two counts of second-degree rape of child after she began a sexual relationship with Fualaau, who was 12 at the time in 1996. She became pregnant with Fualaau's children twice before he was 15, despite court orders to keep them apart.

In May December, Moore portrays a woman named Gracie Atherton-Yoo, who, when she was 36, began an affair with 13-year-old Joe Yoo at a pet shop where they worked, sparking a tabloid obsession. Riverdale alum Charles Melton stars as the former pet shop employee, and Portman as Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry, who comes to town to research their relationship as she prepares to portray Gracie in a movie about the scandal. Elizabeth's prodding into their lives causes Joe to rethink his dynamic with Gracie.

On Sunday, Portman also spoke with ET about Fualaau's disapproval of the film.

"I’m so sorry to hear that," she told the outlet. "It's not based on them, it's, you know, 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, and yeah, it's its own story, it's not meant to be a biopic."

Last week, Fualaau told The Hollywood Reporter that he was “offended” by the film — claiming he was never contacted by Haynes, screenwriter Samy Burch or Melton, 33.

"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," said Fualaau.

He added, "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."

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Fualaau said "my story is not nearly as simple as" May December portrays it.

Spokespersons for Netflix did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. A rep for Haynes had no comment.

See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 81st annual Golden Globes as they're broadcasting live from The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on CBS and Paramount+.

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