Nearly 45 years later, Al Pacino revealed in his memoir 'Sonny Boy' that he donated his pay from the 1980 film 'Cruising' to charity.

In his new memoir Sonny Boy, Al Pacino says that he donated his salary from the controversial 1980 film Cruising to charity after he found the finished product “exploitative” of the LGBTQ+ community.

Released in 1980, Cruising starred then-39-year-old Al as a police officer who went undercover at underground gay bars in New York to catch a serial killer suspected of killing gay men. It was directed by William Friedkin,

Al Pacino admits in his new memoir Sonny Boy (via Page Six) that he didn’t take a paycheck for his most controversial film. William Friedkin’s Cruising (1980) starred Pacino as a New York cop who goes undercover in the city’s gay leather scene to catch a serial killer preying upon the subculture.

Al Pacino wrote in his new memoir, 'Sonny Boy,' that he "just wanted one positive thing to come out of" making his 1980 film, 'Cruising,' by donating his salary

I didn’t want to make it a p.r. stunt,” he explained. “I just wanted one positive thing to come out of that whole experience.”

Al Pacino regretted a controversial role, donated his paycheck to charity, calling it a misstep for LGBTQ+ representation.

Al Pacino donated his entire salary from an “exploitative” gay film to charity. The 84-year-old Hollywood icon wrote in his new memoir ‘Sonny Boy’ that his donations were anonymous and had never revealed the fact until now, following his role in the 1980 crime thriller ‘Cruising’, which sees a serial killer targeting gay men.