Nearly 20 years after her death, an upcoming movie about Anna Nicole Smith‘s doctor is making waves with her family.
Larry Birkhead, the father of the late pop culture icon’s daughter Dannielynn, stressed that they “absolutely object” to Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, which premieres Oct. 16, based on Dr. Sandeep Kapoor‘s 2017 book of the same name about his controversial friendship with Smith while also serving as her prescribing physician.
“We’re not involved in this production,” Birkhead told Entertainment Tonight. “And we absolutely object to any of Anna Nicole’s, my life, my daughter’s life being used in a movie and being made characters out of by someone who was a doctor that supposedly people were supposed to trust.”
Written and directed by Thane Economou, Trust Me, I’m a Doctor is set against the height of the early 2000s tabloid era, chronicling Dr. Kapoor’s (Kal Penn) fight to clear his name with the guidance of respected attorney Ellyn Garofalo (Linda Hamilton) after Smith’s (Abbie Cornish) death from an accidental drug overdose.
“I was promised by this doctor and his representatives that his days of doing press and being in the spotlight were over,” said Birkhead. “But here we are. Fast forward almost 20 years later, and this doctor continues to make the rounds. I’ve warned them about the harm and the emotional distress that this puts on not just myself, but also most importantly, Dannielynn.”
Noting he’s filed a complaint with the California Medical Board over Dr. Kapoor’s involvement in the film, Birkhead added, “I’m just gonna let the process work itself out, and see what they have to say about that.” Deadline has reached out to Dr. Kapoor and the California Medical Board for comment.
Birkhead also had thoughts on Cornish’s casting as the 1993 Playboy Playmate of the Year. “I’m sure she’s probably a nice girl and a great actress but I don’t think she quite embodied Anna Nicole,” he said.
“And that’s not really an attack on her. This has been done several times,” added Birkhead. “There’s been a Lifetime Movie. There’s been a Law & Order episode. I have yet to see someone who actually embodies the spirit and the looks and the persona of Anna Nicole.”
Following Smith’s death at age 39 on Feb. 8, 2007, the California Medical Board investigated Dr. Kapoor after he prescribed her methadone, which he defended at the time as “medically sound and appropriate.” In 2010, Dr. Kapoor was cleared of all six counts against him after an autopsy determined the methadone was not a contributing factor in Smith’s death.
