There’s nothing we love more than a good biopic and Ryan Murphy’s Love Story is the show to binge watch if you haven’t already.
Following the romance and tragic deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette, the show relied heavily on the 2024 book, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy by Elizabeth Beller.
But the surviving Kennedy family members have some thoughts.
What have the Kennedys said about Love Story?
As America’s closest thing to a royal family, the Kennedys are quite a big deal.
Executive producer Brad Simpson revealed that they got “intense feedback” whilst Sarah Pidgeon, who plays Carolyn, said, “I hope that they feel we led with respect and honour for John and Carolyn.”
Despite this, a few Kennedy family members have voiced their displeasure with the miniseries.
Jack Schlossberg
While discussing his congressional campaign with CBS Sunday Morning, the nephew of JFK Jr, said, “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.
“I would hope that Mr. Murphy would donate some of the millions of dollars of profits that he’s making to maybe some of the causes that John championed throughout his life. Maybe he would donate some of that money to the JFK library to help keep President Kennedy’s memory alive, but he’s not. He’s making money. This is not a documentary.”
Rory Kennedy
At the Sundance Film Festival, JFK Jr.’s cousin Rory admitted that she was not sure she’d watch the show.
What’s more, the couple died in a plane crash while they were on their way to Rory’s wedding.
“I was quite close to John and continue to miss him every day,” she said, as per Variety.
“It’s been a great loss for our family and a great loss to the country. They are people we feel very close to and saddened by their loss. But there are opportunities for younger people who did not know their story to learn about it. Depending on how the show is done, it could also be a wonderful thing to their character, their personality, their contribution to society. We will see.”
Lisa DePaulo
Whilst she’s not a member of the Kennedy family, former JFK Jr. staffer Lisa DePaulo had mixed feelings about the series.
The journalist wrote an article for The Hollywood Reporter titled I Knew JFK Jr. I Thought I Would Sob Through ‘Love Story.’ Instead, I Laughed Out Loud in which she praised the lead actors but slammed the portrayal of Daryl Hannah and some of the scenes featuring Jackie O (played by Naomi Watts).
“Would John have liked Love Story? No. But I think he would have been happy about the depiction of his wife — at least as far as the first four episodes — as a smart and intoxicating creature,” Lisa wrote.
“His mother? He’d have hated it. But laughed. When these things arise — documentaries, anniversary specials, the whole John Jr. oeuvre — I always ask, is this good for his legacy? (That’s my virtue signalling.) And they usually are. I like that, I like when 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds know who he was.”
Annette Bening
Another non Kennedy, but the actress spoke about the depiction of her in the show by actress Megan Channell.
In a scene, Carolyn Bessette (played by Sarah Pidgeon) who was working for Calvin Klein styles Annette (Megan Channell) for the premiere of her 1991 gangster classic Bugsy, but according to Annette the scene was a total fabrication.
“I had heard that this was happening and a number of people mentioned it to me so I watched the scene,,” she told Good Morning America.
“I felt very flattered by the actress. I thought she was wonderful. It didn’t happen in real life. I met Carolyn Bessette once at Calvin Klein, but no, I didn’t happen that way.”
Annette added: ‘”No, in fact it was supposed to be the premiere of Bugsy and I was nine months pregnant so I know for sure it wasn’t me at that point.”
Where can I watch Love Story in Australia?
Love Story is available to stream in Australia on Disney+.
New episodes are dropping weekly, on Fridays, so make sure you’re signed up here to watch.
You are also able to watch other shows by Ryan – including Glee, American Crime Story and Feud – on the streamer.
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