Daryl Hannah has criticised Ryan Murphy's hit series Love Story in a scathing essay for the New York Times, accusing the show of exploiting tragedy and perpetuating misogyny. The drama, which chronicles the romance between John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette, features a character based on Hannah, played by Dree Hemingway. Hannah and JFK Jr were in a relationship in the early 1990s.
In her essay, Hannah wrote: 'I have generally chosen not to respond to media coverage of me. I have long believed that engaging with distortion often amplifies it. But a recent tragedy-exploiting television series about John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette features a character using my name and presents her as me. The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident.'
Hannah quoted a producer who described her character as an 'adversary', adding: 'Storytelling requires tension. It often requires an obstacle. But a real, living person is not a narrative device. 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?'
The actress called the portrayal 'not even a remotely accurate representation', specifically denying allegations of cocaine use and other negative assertions. 'It's appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show,' she wrote. 'These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct – and they are false.'
Hannah revealed she has received 'hostile and even threatening' messages since the show aired. Her essay follows criticism from JFK Jr's nephew Jack Schlossberg, who told CBS: 'If you want to know someone who's never met anyone in my family, knows nothing about us, talk to Ryan Murphy. 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.'
Producer Brad Simpson defended the show as 'made with sincerity', while actress Sarah Pidgeon, who played Bessette, said Schlossberg 'has every right to share how he feels about it'. Since its launch in February, Love Story has set a streaming record for Disney, becoming the most watched FX limited series to date with 25 million hours of viewing for its first five episodes.
