Richard Gere slammed by Paul Simon's daughter over demolition of childhood home
The actor, 74, was blasted by Lulu Simon, who took to social media to accuse the star of betraying a promise made to her family.
Lulu, 30, raged on Instagram: 'Just in case anyone was wondering if I still hate Richard Gere – I do!'
She is the daughter of 82-year-old Paul Simon and 58-year-old Edie Brickell, and is fuming over Richard's decision to sell the New Canaan, Connecticut estate her parents once owned.
The Pretty Woman actor reportedly purchased the 32-acre property for $10.8 million in 2022.
Lulu alleged he had pledged to preserve the land as a 'condition of his purchase' – a promise she claims was broken when he resold it for $10.75 million in October 2024 to developers planning to divide the estate into nine plots.
'He bought my childhood home. Promised he would take care of the land as condition of his purchase,' she wrote online.
Lulu added: 'Proceeded to never actually move in just sold it to a developer as 9 separate plots :).'
'Hate! Him!' Lulu added over a selfie and screenshot of an article about the property's impending demolition.
In a second Instagram slide, Lulu added: 'I hope my dead pets buried in that backyard haunt you until you descend into a slow and unrelenting madness.'
The caption accompanied a photo of Gere surrounded by family pets.
Lulu followed the posts with a meme showing a frog in front of a surreal landscape with the caption: 'Time will put your enemies in the ground.'
The home, originally built in the 1930s, was scheduled for demolition in May, according to People.
Richard and his wife, 41-year-old Alejandra Gere, relocated to Madrid with their children to be closer to Alejandra's family.
He told Vanity Fair Spain in April 2024: 'She was very generous in giving me six years living in my world, so it is only fair that I give her at least another six living in hers.'
The couple share two sons – Alexander, six, and James, five. Alejandra also has a son, Albert, 11, from her previous marriage to businessman Govind Friedland.
Richard shares a son, Homer, 25, with ex-wife Carey Lowell.
Although the house is being demolished, New York-based salvage company Hudson Valley House Parts documented their efforts to recover architectural details from the estate.
The company said in an Instagram post in May: 'Formerly owned by Richard Gere who purchased the property from Paul Simon and Edie Brickell, this 1930s home is scheduled for demolition with the intention of dividing the 32 acres into nine large lots.'
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