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To say that I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball was a one of a kind icon and comedy genius is a severe understatement. So any actress stepping into her shoes to portray her on-screen was never going to be easy…

We were delighted to hear that Nicole Kidman had been given the role of Lucille Ball in an upcoming Amazon Studios biopic about the comedian’s life.

But not everyone felt the same way, as the decision to cast the 53-year-old actress was met with quite a lot of criticism, especially as many fans felt that stars such as Debra Messing or Carole Cook, to name just two, would have been a much better fit.

However, if it makes Nicole Kidman fans and Nicole Kidman herself feel any better, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s daughter Lucie Arnaz – who is actually producing the show with her brother, Desi Arnaz Jr. – had nothing but high praise for the actress, and defended the decision to have her portray her late mother on screen…

“It’s a done deal, but the contracts aren’t actually signed, which is why I haven’t said anything publicly about it. But I felt I should just at least try to calm the waters here,” the 69-year-old wrote on Facebook after learning about some of the backlash.

“Here’s the deal. You should understand we are not doing a remake of I Love Lucy. No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo nor do the Vitameatavegamin routine or the chocolate factory routine or any of the silly things,” she continued.

“It’s the story of Lucille Ball, my actual mother, not Lucy Ricardo, and her husband, Desi Arnaz, my dad, not Ricky Ricardo.

“So I hope I can set the record straight here, and just say stop arguing about who should play it, she doesn’t look like her, her nose isn’t the same, she isn’t as funny, blah blah blah.”

Well, there you have it!

We hope the clarification that Nicole Kidman will not be trying to recreate some of Lucile Ball’s most iconic moments in I Love Lucy will put people’s minds at ease.

So what can we expect from the two-hour biopic? According to Lucie Arnaz, it will be a “slice of life” in her parents’ day-to-day life…

“There will be humor in the film, but it is a story of the two of them and how they met and what went right with finding the show, what went wrong, their relationship, their love affair,” she added.

We can’t wait!

Do you agree with the decision to cast Nicole Kidman? Or do you agree with some of the critics who think the other actresses might have been a better fit?