JFK Jr.'s nephew blasts Ryan Murphy for not consulting with family for 'grotesque' series American Love Story

Daily Mail​

3 hours ago

The nephew of the late John F. Kennedy Jr. is striking out at one of the creators of the upcoming biopic series American Love Story.
Jack Schlossberg, the son of JFK Jr.'s sister Caroline Kennedy, said in a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday that the Kennedy family had not been consulted about the 'grotesque' series, which was created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.
DailyMail.com has contacted Murphy's representative for comment, but hasn't yet received a response.
Murphy, 59, previously got into a spat with Schlossberg over the series just last week, and the controversy comes after he was previously slammed for 'profiting off the grief' of the families of victims of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in 2022.
In a video shared while he was on a road trip across the United States, Schlossberg clarified his family's involvement in the new series, which depicts the courtship and subsequent marriage of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.
'Lately, my news feed has been filled with pictures of my uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., a great man,' Schlossberg said in the clip. '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.'
He explained that there wasn't a legal avenue for his family to exert influence over the production.
'The right to privacy, which includes the ability to control your own name, image and likeness, doesn't survive death in the state of New York,' Schlossberg clarified. 'For that matter, he's considered a public figure, so there's not much we can do.'
'I hope those making these shows about him take seriously what he stood for in his life, all that he achieved in it. And that they donate some of the profits [that] they're making,' he continued.
'For the record, I think admiration for my Uncle John is great. What I don't think is great is profiting off of it in a grotesque way,' he added on a harsher note.
This isn't the first time Schlossberg has called for Murphy to donate his profits from the series.
Last week, Murphy shared photos of the actors in costume to play JFK Jr. and Bessette, which several fans criticized for failing to capture their sense of style and taste.
But Schlossberg jumped into the comments to call out Murphy.
'HEY RYAN — admiration for John is great but maybe consider DONATING PROFITS TO THE KENNEDY LIBRARY thanks,' he wrote.
'I hope those making these shows about him take seriously what he stood for in his life, all that he achieved in it. And that they donate some of the profits [that] they're making,' he continued
Murphy responded, simply writing, '@jackuno I absolutely will.'
The spat was reminiscent of criticism Murphy received in recent years for his Netflix series Dahmer, which traced the life and crimes of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Dahmer murdered 17 young men over the course of 13 years, in addition to sexually assaulting others. He was bludgeoned to death in prison by a fellow inmate in 1994 at age 34 while serving 16 life sentences.
Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey — who was only 19 when he was brutally murdered by Dahmer — claimed in 2022 that she had not been contacted about the series.
She accused Netflix, which streamed the series, of being 'greedy for not contributing money to her late brother's children.
But Murphy later insisted that he tried to contact many of the victims' families in the three-and-a-half years that the show was being made, though he didn't specify if Isbell was one of the people he reached out to.
'We [did] research for a very long time,' he said while discussing the show at an event.
'We, over the course of the three-and-a-half years when we were writing it, working on it, we reached out to around 20 of the victims' families and friends trying to get input, trying to talk to people, and not a single person responded to us in that process.
'So we relied very, very heavily on our incredible group of researchers who… I don't even know how they found a lot of this stuff,' he continued.
'But it was just like a night and day effort to us trying to uncover the truth of these people.'
In a later chat with the New York Times in November 2022, Murphy again defended himself and also fought back against viewers who criticized the series for being marketed as an LGBTQ series.
'What are the rules now?' Murphy asked. 'Should we never do a movie about a tyrant?
'There was a moment on Netflix where they removed the LGBTQ tag from Dahmer and I didn't like it,' Murphy said. 'I asked why they did that and they said because people were upset because it was an upsetting story.
'I was, like, "Well, yeah." But it was a story of a gay man and more importantly, his gay victims.'
Last week, Murphy shared images of actors Paul Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon dressed as JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette for American Love Story.
The two stars posed inside a spacious studio as they did a camera test as production officially kicked off this week.
'FIRST LOOK! Here are some stills from our LOVE STORY camera test,' the TV writer wrote in the caption of the post.
'We started shooting this week in New York City and can't wait until you see the romantic and tragic love story between America's prince, JFK Jr., and fashion icon Carolyn Bessette - out Valentine's Day week of 2026.'
He added, 'I am thrilled to introduce you to Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn and Paul Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. Over a thousand actors auditioned for each of these roles, and we absolutely found the perfect choices. Congratulations Sarah and Paul!'
Sarah - who is known for the Amazon Prime Video series The Wilds - could be seen wearing a black turtleneck as well as black trousers and a tan coat.
She slipped into a pair of closed-toed, black pumps and allowed her platinum blonde locks to flow down straight past her shoulders.
Bessette had been a fashion publicist for Calvin Klein and was also known for her classic and minimalistic style.
Paul wore a double-breasted, gray suit which was paired with a white dress shirt and red-patterned tie.
In one image, he sported a pair of shades and also stopped for a photo outdoors while donning a different suit.
He added, 'I am thrilled to introduce you to Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn and Paul Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. Over a thousand actors auditioned for each of these roles, and we absolutely found the perfect choices. Congratulations Sarah and Paul!'
Kelly further channeled the late JFK Jr. in a pair of jeans, green shirt and black vest - similar to a past look worn by the attorney.
The two stars also cozied up together for the camera - which was shown in a video in a separate post on Friday.
Other celebrities that have been cast in the upcoming project include Naomi Watts as Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy, Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein, Leila George as Kelly Klein, Sydney Lemmon as Lauren Bessette and Noah Fearnley as Michael Bergin.
Social media users shared their thoughts on the first look into the new series - with one penning, 'Amazing casting. I knew immediately it was him.'
Another typed, 'Wow, I knew who they were before even reading the caption,' and a fan added, 'Beautiful casting. Well done. Cannot wait to see how it comes together.'
'Man, Jr's casting is DEAD ON,' an Instagram user shared, while celebrities also offered their own feelings.
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs commented, 'Can't wait,' while Office alum Mindy Kaling wrote, 'Wow.'
While Murphy replied to Schlossberg, the producer also responded to another fan who had questioned about the 13th season of American Horror Story.
'Ryan are we getting AHS13 this year? Or not in 2025?' they asked, and Ryan answered, 'Sarah Paulson and I are cooking up something cool!'
The premise of the upcoming series will show, 'what started out as a beautiful union for the young couple, widely regarded as American royalty, [begin] to fray under the stress of the relentless microscope and navel gaze of tabloid media,' per Deadline.
'The pressures of their careers and rumored family discord ended with their tragic deaths when his private plane crashed into the ocean on a hazy summer night off the coast of Massachusetts.'
Carolyn and John Jr. - who was the son of late 35th President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy - first crossed paths in 1992, when he was in a relationship with actress Daryl Hannah.
Two years later, Bessette and Kennedy began dating and their romance was heavily publicized. The pair were often pictured out in NYC together or attending events.
In 1995, Carolyn and John became engaged and secretly tied the knot in a romantic ceremony the following year in September 1996.
The nuptials were held at a small chapel by candlelight at the Georgia Island of Cumberland - with close friends and family in attendance.
A young Jack Schlossberg had notably been the ring bearer during the wedding.
Bessette had worn a silk gown as she said 'I do' from designer Narciso Rodriguez. After the nuptials, media attentions towards the couple continued to grow.
On July 16, 1999 - Carolyn, John Jr. and her sister Lauren - passed away after their plane crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
It was later ruled that the cause of the tragic incident was due to Kennedy losing control and all three of the bodies were recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean five days after the crash.
Prior to her relationship with Kennedy, Carolyn had dated Calvin Klein model Michael Bergin.
Executive producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson told Variety last year that Bessette and Kennedy's story 'really resonates right now. It's amazing.
'A lot of younger women are looking to [Carolyn] as sort of a representational icon of a certain period of time that's really fascinating, and hopefully, we'll be able to bring that to the screen.'