Stallone posted an offensive caricature of Winkler on social media, writing: “I would really like to have even a little of WHAT’S LEFT of my RIGHTS back – I think that would be a JUST gesture from this 93 year old gentleman.” Noting that Winkler’s rights would apparently pass to his children, including Rocky Balboa producers Charles and David Winkler, Stallone added, “This is a painful subject that eats away at my soul, because I wanted to leave something of Rocky for my kids.” Stallone also posted the cover of a novel by David Winkler (producer on all three Creed films as well as Rocky Balboa), calling him “the painfully mischievous … son of the supremely inept and parasitic [Irwin Winkler]”, and that “this crew is the worst inhuman [sic] beings I have ever met in the cinema.” He also suggested that “if it hadn’t been for Winkler, there would have been at least three other Rockys.” The Rocky series currently consists of six films. The first five, all written by Stallone, and three of which he directed, were released between 1976 and 1990. Stallone also wrote and directed Rocky Balboa, which was released in 2006. Stallone produced the spin-offs Creed films: He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 2015 film Creed and is a writer on Creed II. which was released in 2018. A third Creed film is set to arrive in November 2022. In an interview with Variety in 2019, Stallone had complained about not having an equity stake in the franchise, saying, “It was shocking that it never happened, but I was told, ‘Hey, you got paid, so what are you complaining about?’ I was furious.” Winkler representatives have been contacted for a response.
