To say Daryl Hannah comes off poorly in FX’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette would be an understatement.
The series paints the Kill Bill and Splash actor (played by Dree Hemingway) as shallow, inconsiderate, and desperate in her relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly).
Now, in an op-ed for The New York Times, Hannah shares her disapproval of the show’s portrayal of her as an aggravating obstacle for John and Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) to overcome in their relationship.
“A real, living person is not a narrative device,” Hannah writes. “There is also a gendered dimension to this thinking. Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains. Isn’t it textbook misogyny to tear down one woman in order to build up another?”
Hannah also denies many of the most egregious actions Love Story‘s version of her carries out, from doing cocaine off a Kennedy family heirloom to crashing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s (Naomi Watts) private memorial.
“It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show,” Hannah writes. “These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct — and they are false.”
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Hannah also reveals that in the weeks since Love Story‘s premiere, she has also received “hostile and even threatening messages” from viewers.
Hannah is not the only person in Love Story‘s orbit to criticize the show’s depiction of real-life events. Jack Schlossberg, son of Caroline Kennedy (played by Grace Gummer in the show) and nephew of JFK Jr., has also spoken up.
In a March 1 appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Schlossberg called out Love Story executive producer Ryan Murphy.
“If you want to know someone who’s never met anyone in my family, knows nothing about us, talk to Ryan Murphy,” he said.
He added: “The guy knows nothing about what he’s talking about, and he’s making a ton of money on a grotesque display of someone else’s life.”
Hannah’s op-ed echoes Schlossberg’s words, as she labeled Love Story a “tragedy-exploiting television series.”
Love Story is the latest Murphy series to come under fire for its handling of real, sensitive events. In 2022, Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story faced criticism from family members of victims, none of whom were approached about the series.
