Sylvester Stallone calls Rocky producers ‘blood-suckers’ and depicts them as vampires

Sylvester Stallone has escalated his criticism of the Rocky franchise’s producers after the announcement of the new spin-off film, Drago.

Last month, the actor shared a lengthy message asking producer Irwin Winkler to give him “at least a little [of] WHAT’S LEFT of my rights back”.

Now, on Instagram, Stallone shared a mocked-up picture of Winkler as a vampire, sucking blood from the neck of Stallone’s character, Rocky Balboa.

“After IRWIN WINKLER And FAMILY SUCK ROCKY DRY! Presumed to be the most hated , untalented, decrepited, Producer in Hollywood and his cowardly children have found their next meal… Drago ?” he wrote in the caption.

“Throughout history so many artists in every industry ,recording , painting writing , you name it have been destroyed by these blood suckers who have destroyed so many families, lining their pockets with other people work.. #parasite producers #exploited artists victims, [sic]” he continued.

As well as starring in the original Rocky (and its sequels), Stallone also wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-winning sports drama.

Before his latest incendiary Instagram post, Stallone shared another message about the Rocky franchise, in which he accused the producers of “picking clean the BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me”.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Winkler for comment.

In 2019, Variety reported that Winkler and his affiliates were surprised to learn that Stallone was upset about his position with the franchise, saying he’d earned tens of millions of dollars in profit participation in addition to his upfront fees.