Who Is Antonio DAmico - Did Donatella Versace Hate Antonio DAmico?

Antonio D’Amico was one of the first people to find Gianni Versace's body after the fashion designer was shot by serial killer Andrew Cunanan in 1997. While D’Amico, now 59, has kept to himself in the years since his then-boyfriend’s death, he has since recently spoken about Gianni’s legacy and the new season of American Crime Story. Here’s what you need to know about D’Amico in the aftermath of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story on FX.

1) D’Amico and Versace were together 11 years.

They first met at La Scala, an opera house in Milan in 1986, People reported. According to the New York Times, they were together 11 years at the time of Versace's death. During their time together, D’Amico worked alongside Versace, designing for Versace Sport and Istante. D’Amico moved to Miami with Versace in 1992 after the couple were together six years in Milan.

2) D'Amico had a strained relationship with Versace's sister, Donatella.

''My relationship with Antonio is exactly as it was when Gianni was alive," Donatella told the New York Times. "I respected him as the boyfriend of my brother, but I never liked him as a person. So the relationship stayed the same.''

3) D’Amico was one of the first people to see Gianni Versace after the shooting.

In an interview with Dateline, D’Amico said Versace went out to collect the morning newspaper, something D’Amico would normally join him for. According to The Guardian, D’Amico “was drinking coffee on the veranda close to the mansion’s entrance when he heard the shots.” D’Amico and one of Versace’s butlers ran out to see what happened.

“The house had stained glass windows so we couldn’t see what had happened from inside, so we had to open the gate,” D’Amico told The Guardian. “I saw Gianni lying on the steps, with blood around him. At that point, everything went dark. I was pulled away, I didn’t see any more.”

4) Versace willed D'Amico the right to live in any of the Versace residences, but Donatella reportedly voided that.

Before his death, Versace had crafted a will while receiving treatment for a rare form of inner-ear cancer. The Guardian reported that Versace left D'Amico $57,000 a month and the right to live in any of Versace’s residences, including the Miami villa. But The Guardian also reported that since the properties were owned by the Versace company, not Gianni, Donatella prohibited D'Amico from moving in, and he only received a portion of the stipend.

Santo Versace, Antonio D’Amico, Naomi Campbell, Maurice Bejart, Bernadette Chirac, and Claude Pompidou at Bejart’s ballet tribute to Gianni Versace.

5) D’Amico suffered from depression after Versace's death.

He told The Guardian, “I had never been through a depression and never saw a therapist as I was advised to: why did I need to tell someone else what had happened when I knew I was this way because Gianni’s death had torn me in two? I was in a nightmare, I felt nothing and gave no importance to anything...the house, the money...because it felt false to have expectations of life."

6) D’Amico released his own fashion collection in 1999.

He presented his first collection in Milan, and friend Elton John came out to support him, the New York Times reported. D’Amico told reporters he didn't use the money from Versace's will for the line. "I'm using my own money that I saved to start the business," he said. In 2012, he released a denim line called Pump with Italian soccer player Massimo Lotti. He also went back to sportswear, releasing his own line of golfwear in 2017, according to The Guardian.

7) D’Amico has mostly kept to himself over the years.

He revealed to The Guardian that found love again and has been living with his partner in the northern Italian countryside. He also told the newspaper that he still feels close to Versace: “Sincerely, after two decades, I will always be connected to Gianni as a person I loved for more than 15 years,” D’Amico said.

8) He spoke out against American Crime Story.

Before the Versace family released a statement about ACS, D’Amico revealed that he did not agree with how the show was handling certain scenes. In June, Ricky Martin, who plays D’Amico in ACS, spoke with Entertainment Weekly about a scene in which Versace does not want D’Amico to touch him because of the paparazzi. D’Amico said Versace would never do that, as he was already out. “We lived like a natural couple, there was never a problem,” he told The Guardian. “It was the right moment for him to come out in public, but everyone involved in our world knew. He never tried to hide who he was.”

FX

D’Amico also denounced the scene in which he finds Gianni’s body. “The picture of Ricky Martin holding the body in his arms is ridiculous. Maybe it’s the director’s poetic license, but that is not how I reacted,” he said. He also revealed that while he did not plan to watch the show, he hoped that Martin would reach out to him to talk about the role. Martin later revealed to Ocean Drive magazine that he did in fact speak with D’Amico.

At the end of January, D'Amico released another statement to People:

“Significant parts of the [series] on Gianni Versace’s murder do not reflect the reality of the events that took place. I feel—together with those who know me well—that my character … is a misrepresentation of myself and what our relationship was like.”

Tamara Fuentes is the current Entertainment Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers TV, movies, books, celebrities, and more. She can often be found in front of a screen fangirling about something new. Before joining Cosmopolitan, she was the entertainment editor over at Seventeen. She is also a member of the Television Critics Association and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram. 

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