Daughter of ‘The Iron Claw’ wrestler slams movie as “inaccurate”
Lacey Von Erich, the daughter of Kerry Von Erich, who is portrayed by Jeremy Allen White in The Iron Claw, has condemned the movie and claimed it is “inaccurate”.
The A24 movie was sold as a true story of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty, which is full of tragedy, and was released to high acclaim in 2023. However, a new episode of the Investigation Discovery documentary series Hollywood Demons, set for release on April 21st, airs the Von Erich family’s discontent with the film.
Lacy’s father, Kerry, suffered a motorcycle crash that derailed his life and career. It caused him to need to get his foot amputated, develop an addiction to painkillers, and tragically lose his life to suicide.
The film depicts this part of his story, but it does not show his relationship with his two daughters, including Lacey, and his wife, Catherine Murray.
“My sister and I were not in the movie as my dad’s children and he didn’t have a wife or anything,” she said in a new clip released from the episode (via The Independent). “And that was a really big part of my dad. So how he was portrayed in the movie is so inaccurate that it was heart-wrenching.”
Additionally, the only other surviving Von Erich brother, Kevin Von Erich, played by Zac Efron in The Iron Claw, agreed with his niece’s assessment of The Iron Claw, adding, “Kerry in the movie was not a family man, but in real life he was.”
Nevertheless, Kevin did support the movie and confirmed that he “endorsed” The Iron Claw despite Lacey insisting the Von Erichs were not consulted before the tragic tale of their family was depicted on screen.
Kevin Von Erich went on to say that he “endorsed” the film, but Lacey Von Erich maintains that the family was not consulted before the release of the A24 drama.
In a review of The Iron Claw, Far Out wrote: “The Iron Claw might lack the drama of Darren Aronofsky’s excellent The Wrestler, even though its truth-based story is indeed moving and dramatic in its own right. However, it’s a welcome addition to the culture and history of the sport of wrestling and indicates the serious turn that Zac Efron just might have been capable of all this time.”
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