Angelyne says Emmy Rossum's portrayal of her is 'disturbing' and 'a bad pastiche'

• LA icon Angelyne spoke candidly to The Guardian about the Peacock miniseries based on her life.
• The miniseries stars "Shameless" actor Emmy Rossum as Angelyne and costars Martin Freeman and Lukas Gage.
• "It's disturbing to see someone misrepresent a beautiful artwork," Angelyne said of Rossum's portrayal.

LA billboard icon Angelyne has shared her thoughts on "Angelyne," the Peacock miniseries about her life. 

Angelyne rose to fame in the 1980s after appearing on a series of billboards across LA. She appeared in Hollywood movies, released singles, and became a cult legend in the city. 

"Angelyne" stars "Shameless" actor Emmy Rossum as the larger-than-life personality and is based on The Hollywood Reporter's investigation into Angelyne. 

Speaking to The Guardian, Angelyne said, "There's only one Angelyne, and I'm concerned that show might mislead people."

She said she initially "refused" to speak to the creators of "Angelyne" but relented after "they gave me a lot of money — millions — because my name is trademarked."

"They couldn't do it without me," she said. "They wanted to make me executive producer. And I initially agreed because I didn't know it was gonna be so bad."

Angelyne then went on to describe Rossum's portrayal as "a bad pastiche."

"You know, they've tried to do Marilyn Monroe so many times and they could never get it right. But Marilyn was an actress — whereas I made myself," she said. "I don't want to watch it. It's disturbing to see someone misrepresent a beautiful artwork. She's got a long face."

The Guardian reported that their phone interview with Angelyne then cut out and, after redialling, Angelyne said "the universe hung up because I started being very childish."

"The universe said, 'No, no, no!' I try to stay positive," she continued. "I'm an artist. I paint in the mirror. Everything has to be perfect — my eyes, my nose, my mouth. And for someone to take that and mess it up is painful. I can't even watch it."

Rossum previously spoke to Insider about the series, describing Angelyne as "not" a hands-on executive producer. The billboard star originally joined the production as an executive producer but received no formal credit on the series. 

"I hope that when she finally sees the show, she will see that this is an absolute love letter and a tribute to the woman that she is," Rossum said. "I have nothing but love and respect in my heart for her. And I think that the show is a lot of fun and we'll honor her magical essence."