Kate Hudson has addressed criticism from the real-life couple’s son she and Hugh Jackman portrayed in Song Sung Blue.
“Honestly, I don’t even know, out of respect for our filmmakers, I’m not the right person to talk about it,” the 46-year-old actress said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Thursday, January 8.
Hudson played Claire Sardine, while Jackman portrayed her husband, Mike Sardinein the musical film. Claire and Mike performed in the Neil Diamond tribute band, Lightning & Thunder. Song Sung Bluewhich is based on a 2008 documentary about the lives of Claire and Mike, tells the story of the pair as a couple and as a group as they navigate their ups and downs in the Wisconsin music scene.
Mike and Claire’s son Mike Jr. publicly criticized the biopic, claiming it was not a truthful portrayal of his father’s life. (Mike died in 2006 at age 55.)
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson’s new movie, Song Sung Blue, doesn’t seem to have the approval of Claire and Mike Sardina’s entire family. “Everyone thinks it’s such a wonderful movie (and) it’s so emotional. It’s all lies,” the couple’s son, Michael Sardina Jr., told the Daily Mail on Monday, December 29. “Steal all the hard (…)
“Everybody thinks it’s such a wonderful movie (and) it’s so moving. It’s all lies,” Mike Jr., 41, told the Daily Mail in December 2025. “Steal all the hard work my father did all his life.”
Mike Jr. he claimed that he was not consulted about the film and says that he does not have an analogue character in the film, unlike his brothers. (In addition to Mike Jr., Claire and Mike shared daughter Angelina. Claire is also the mother of two children from a previous relationship.)
“Every interview these freaks have done on national television they don’t even mention my existence, even though I was the most frequent force in my father’s life, even when I wasn’t in Wisconsin because I’m his only child,” Mike Jr. stated. on the network “They didn’t even try to contact me… They didn’t try to get more information.”
THR reported Thursday that Mike Jr. received payment as a consultant Song Sung Blue.
Hudson, meanwhile, told the outlet that he spoke to Claire, 64, when he was making the film.
“I’m so happy to have met Claire, she’s such a wonderful woman,” he said. “And she’s very happy with the movie.”
Claire has been publicly supportive Song Sung Blue in interviews and attend the premiere of the film in New York.
“It’s been surreal,” Claire told the local Wisconsin network WISN last month about the film’s success at the box office. “It brings back so many memories: good, bad, indifferent, love story, music (and) Milwaukee.”
Jackman has not addressed Mike Jr.’s claims.
Song Sung Blue director Craig Brewer has said that his intention for the film was to honor Mike and Claire’s legacy.
“The great thing about making movies about musicians or artists is that they understand that it’s those darker elements, or those moments when there’s pain, that are really the ingredients of great music and great art,” Brewer, 54, said. Loud and clear comments in December 2025. “(The family) provided me with a lot of other details and stories that really informed the script that I was writing, but also just the day … to approach certain scenes and deal with emotions.”