Carole Radziwill defended the late John F. Kennedy Jr.’s nephew Jack Schlossberg over his feud with American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy.
The Real Housewives of New York City alum, 61, weighed in after Schlossberg, 32, raised objections over Murphy’s upcoming series American Love Story, which dramatizes JFK Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s courtship and tragic deaths in a 1999 plane crash. Murphy, 59, complained during a recent appearance on the “This Is Gavin Newsom” podcast that it was an “odd choice” for Schlossberg to object to a depiction of a “relative that you really don’t remember.”
Radziwill — who was married to JFK Jr.’s cousin Anthony Radziwill — shared Murphy’s comments via Threads and replied: “I knew John, well. What an awful thing to say to Jack. John and my late husband Anthony were Jack’s godfathers, a role they delighted in. Your comments are unkind & hurtful @ryanmurphyproductions.”
During her RHONY tenure, Carole opened up about the trauma of JFK Jr. and Carolyn’s tragic deaths just one month before her husband Anthony died at age 40 from cancer in August 1999. One poignant RHONY episode followed Carole on a trip to London to retrieve Anthony’s ashes and bring them back to New York City.
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Schlossberg’s beef with six-time Emmy winner Murphy started when he accused the writer-producer of “grotesque[ly]” profiting off his late uncle’s death with American Love Story.
“Lately, my news feed has been filled with pictures of my uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., a great man,” Schlossberg wrote via Instagram in June. “For those wondering whether his family was ever consulted, or has anything to do with the new shows being made about him, the answer is no. And there’s really not much we can do.”
The writer and political activist — who is the son of Edwin Schlossberg and JFK Jr.’s sister Caroline Kennedy — admitted that there was no way to stop American Love Story since “the ability to control your own name, image and likeness” doesn’t extend beyond death in New York, where the FX show is being filmed.
After Murphy suggested that JFK Jr.’s nephew probably didn’t even remember his late relative, Schlossberg replied: “Hey @ryanmurphyproductions : My earliest memories are of John calling me Jackolatern and ‘the nudist,’ picking me up from school, his Pontiac convertible. I remember being the ring bearer at his wedding and the day he died.”
Schlossberg then complained, “You’re making millions off John, making a public spectacle of it but won’t contribute any of your riches to the causes he championed, or the legacy of public service he represented.”
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Criticism of American Love Story has extended beyond Murphy, as the casting selections of Sarah Pidgeon and newcomer Paul Kelly as Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr. have also faced backlash. Pidgeon, 29, told Variety on July 15 that she wanted to honor Bessette-Kennedy’s memory with her portrayal.
“I know how special Carolyn is to me, and I understand how widely beloved she is, so this role comes with a lot of responsibility — and I’m not surprised that people have strong opinions about it,” Pidgeon said. “That’s what makes her such an interesting person.”
This is far from the first time that Murphy has feuded with the subjects of his docu-dramas, as real people depicted in his shows The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and The Assassination of Gianni Versace have publicly taken him to task in the past.
American Love Story does not yet have a premiere date on FX.
