Some fans have started worrying that Sylvester Stallone’s mental health might be rocky after his latest creed against the producers that hold the rights to the Rocky franchise over announced plans to spin off the character Ivan Drago into his own film series. The character was introduced as a Russian nemesis in the film Rocky IV, which saw Stallone’s titular boxer taking on Drago in the then-Soviet Union to help win the Cold War for America and the West.
Stallone has been teeing off on legendary producer Irwin Winkler in interviews and now on social media over the announced Rocky spin-off series. The actor/writer wrote and starred in the original 1976 underdog series of films, and was nominated for Oscars for both roles. Now, the actor who subsequently produced sequels that saw the boxer taking on Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, as well as working with a robot version of his late trainer, is publicly accusing Winkler of degrading the quality of the series.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, in a now-deleted post on his official Instagram page, Stallone said:
“Another Heartbreaker… Just found this out…ONCE AGAIN , PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS SELFISH USELESS CHILDREN are once again picking what is left OFF THE BONES of another wonderful character!!!” Stallone wrote about Drago. “Seriously, how do you weasels look in mirror??? I am sorry to the FANS , I APOLOGIZE to the FANS I never wanted ROCKY to be exploited FOR THIS GREED .. # no shame #sad day #Parasite.”
Fans on Twitter reacted to Stallone’s meltdown with a mixture of concern and disbelief. John W. noted that nobody is safe from Stallone’s rage:
While the Motivation Bot just happened to have an appropriate quote:
And this user feels for Stallone and his lack of control over his own creation:
Whatever you think of the recent direction of the Rocky franchise, it must be admitted that his continued public tantrums are the most consistently entertaining pieces that Stallone has produced in a good long while.