Bethenny Frankel shared her thoughts on social media Sunday regarding Daryl Hannah’s strong objections to her depiction in the FX anthology series Love Story. The show explores the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, who perished in a plane crash in 1999.
Frankel’s Balanced View on Hannah’s Response
Frankel, 55, described Hannah’s New York Times essay as “totally valid,” where the 65-year-old actress slammed her portrayal as Kennedy Jr.’s on-off girlfriend as “whiny.” However, Frankel suggested Hannah could have strengthened her argument by pointing out multiple inaccuracies in the series.
“I think if she had educated the audience on many things that were a discrepancy, it would have made her particular portrayal being a discrepancy more credible,” Frankel explained on TikTok. “If she gave, like, 10 ways the story is false, then we would have believed her portrayal is false.”
In her caption, Frankel added, “The tragedy is all I remember.” She emphasized the show’s fictional elements, such as the inaccurate depiction of Calvin Klein headquarters, where Bessette worked. “I’ve been up to the Calvin Klein showrooms and it wasn’t like that,” she noted.
Frankel highlighted a generational divide: “The difference is the younger generation believes it to be fact when people my age know it’s sensationalism for entertainment, success and ratings.” She maintained that other methods exist to engage audiences without distorting facts.
Hannah and Kennedy Jr.’s Relationship
Hannah and Kennedy Jr. dated from 1988 to 1994. In the series, Paul Anthony Kelly portrays Kennedy Jr., Sarah Pidgeon plays Bessette, and Dree Hemingway resembles Hannah.
Key Points from Hannah’s Essay
Hannah accused the show of presenting her as “irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate,” calling it “not even a remotely accurate representation of her life, her conduct or her relationship with John.”
“I have generally chosen not to respond to media coverage of me. I have long believed that engaging with distortion often amplifies it,” she wrote. “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.”
She criticized the narrative choices: “Storytelling requires tension. It often requires an obstacle. But a real, living person is not a narrative device.” Hannah also addressed a gendered aspect: “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 series depicts her character using cocaine repeatedly, labeled a “coke-obsessed prima donna” in one review. Hannah denied this vehemently: “The actions and behaviors attributed to her are untrue,” adding she has “never used cocaine in her life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties.”
She refuted other claims: “I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone’s private memorial. I have never planted any story in the press. I never compared Jacqueline Onassis’ death to a dog’s.”
Hannah expressed dismay: “It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct – and they are false.” She warned of real impacts: the dramatization leads to “many hostile and even threatening messages from viewers who seem to believe the portrayal is factual.”
