Sylvester Stallone is revealing the one dealbreaker Adele had before buying his Los Angeles mansion last year.
During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, published online Monday, the Rocky statue that overlooks the pool at his former home was brought up. When asked if he wanted to take it with him when he sold the house, the actor responded, “I did.”
But Adele had a different plan in mind — she wanted to keep the statue for herself. Stallone said the “Easy on Me” singer told him, “That’s a no deal. That’s gonna blow the whole deal.”
The actor ended up letting her keep the statue of his iconic character, boxer Rocky Balboa. He added, “I like what she’s doing, she’s making it gorgeous.”
TMZ reported this month that the singer was completely renovating the mansion that she bought for $58 million.
Released in 1976, the John G. Avildsen-directed film became one of the actor’s most well-known movies and roles. Rocky ended up winning three Oscars, including best picture, and Stallone was nominated for best actor for his lead role in the film. In 2016, he was also nominated for best supporting actor when he reprised his role as Rocky in the spinoff Creed.
Last year, Stallone sat down with The Hollywood Reporter in his “barn” at his ranch/house in Hidden Hills, California, for a November 2022 cover story. During the interview, he got candid about his past social media posts criticizing Irwin Winkler, producer of the Rocky and Creed franchises, and his son David Winkler, as well as his anger surrounding the ownership dispute related to the franchise.
When asked if there had been movement on the dispute, he said, “No. It’s never gonna happen. It was a deal that was done unbeknownst to me by people that I thought were close to me and they basically gave away whatever rights I would have had.”
He continued, “At the time I was so excited to be working and I didn’t understand this is a business. Who knew Rocky would go on for another 45 years? I’ve never used one [line of dialogue] from anyone else — and the irony is that I don’t own any of it. The people who have done literally nothing, control it.”
Not only did he star as the infamous boxer, the character Rocky Balboa originated from Stallone in 1976 after he wrote a 90-page script in three days.
He admitted that they wanted to do another Rocky and “was willing to do it. But I said, ‘After 45 years, can we change the playing field a little bit? Level it out? Can’t I get a piece of what I created all these years ago?’”
Sylvester Stallone Says Before Adele Bought His Mansion, She Told Him “No Deal” Without ‘Rocky’ Statue. Sylvester Stallone Says Before Adele Bought His Mansion, She Told Him “No Deal” Without ‘Rocky’ Statue