There has been some furore over the new FX series “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” (“Love Story”), which draws on real life events to dramatise John F. Kennedy Jr (“JFK Jr”) and Carolyn Bessette’s relationship. The actor, Daryl Hannah, has publicly criticised the way in which she is portrayed in the series. We have therefore set out below some key considerations for our creative clients when contemplating portraying real-life figures in tv/film projects.

Overall, it is important to be alive to the fact that compelling tv drama can stray into defamatory territory relatively easily, especially where real-life figures are depicted…

Background

The first episode of Love Story was released in the UK on the Disney+ streaming platform in February 2026. It has subsequently become the platform’s most streamed programme. Audiences have voraciously consumed the dramatic re-telling of JFK Jr and Ms Bessette’s relationship and tragic deaths.

Of course, some have taken exception to the series. Members of the Kennedy family have objected to the portrayal of their relatives, for instance. Additionally, in a guest essay for the New York Times published on 6 March 2026, Ms Hannah has criticised her portrayal in the series – in real life, she was in a relationship with JFK Jr prior to his marriage to Ms Bessette. Ms Hannah stated as follows:

“The character “Daryl Hannah” portrayed in the series is not even a remotely accurate representation of my life, my conduct or my relationship with John. The actions and behaviors attributed to me are untrue. I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties. 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. 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.” [sic]

Ms Hannah claims to have received threatening messages from viewers of the series as a result of the way in which she has been depicted, and to have experienced a negative impact on her reputation.

Ms Hannah’s essay serves as a pertinent reminder of the complexities and risks involved in the portrayal of real-life figures in entertainment. Of course, this issue of “misrepresentation” has arisen many times before. Some of the most well-known film and TV projects to encounter similar sorts of complaints from real-life individuals include (but are not limited to): (i) the film The Lost King, (ii) the TV series Baby Reindeer; (iii) the film The Social Network; (iv) the film The Hurt Locker; and (v) the TV series Feud.

Love Story (and the other creative works listed above) serve as examples of an interesting, and sometimes difficult, combination of fact and fiction. This blend can pose problems from a libel perspective, and it is important that our industry clients are alive to the potential legal and commercial pitfalls.

Very briefly, for a person or company to bring a successful claim for libel (under English law) in respect of something included in a creative work (such as a tv series), they would have to prove that the words complained of were defamatory of them, which means, in essence: (i) that the words used have a “tendency” to make readers think less of them; and also (ii) that the publication of those words has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to their reputation (for companies, serious harm means serious financial loss). Allegations that may merely cause upset alone are not actionable if they are unlikely also to cause serious harm to the reputation of the individual characters involved.

Additionally, libel is a ‘strict liability tort’, meaning that intention to defame is not a required element. Accidental or unintentional defamation is entirely possible, and indeed quite common.

Various defences are available to claims in defamation. The most common is that the allegations made are true. As a fundamental rule, the publisher of the allegation must be able to prove the truth of what it has claimed, rather than simply believe it to be true.

Important takeaways for our industry clients

This article of course relates to the position under English law. With this in mind, the following tips should serve as a useful ‘starter for ten’ for UK industry stakeholders contemplating depicting real-life figures in TV and/or film:

• When contemplating releasing content which depicts real-life figures (whether from history or contemporary life), it is critical that you obtain libel and clearance advice in the relevant jurisdictions (i.e. where the work will be exploited and distributed).
• Whilst admittedly not a complete answer to this problem, including a disclaimer at the beginning of content where real-life individuals are portrayed may assist in reducing the risk of complaint. We note, by way of example, the following disclaimer was included at the beginning of each episode of Love Story:

“This story is inspired by actual events. Certain depictions of people and events have been dramatized or fictionalized for storytelling purposes” [sic]

• One of the key components for a claim in defamation, at least under English law, is that the person concerned must still be living. The tort of defamation concerns damage to reputation, and whilst there are a number of dissenting views, the overarching position under English law is that the dead are not capable of suing for damage to reputation (with certain limited exceptions).  With this in mind, one way in which risk can be mitigated is to attach any defamatory aspects of a script either to fictional characters, deceased characters, or to real life characters who have been anonymised and altered such that the actual person would not be in a position to sue because they could not claim sufficient identification.
• It can also be advisable to “tone down” the fictional elements of a script such that allegations or character traits about real life individuals that cannot legally be justified are not in fact defamatory (i.e. they are positive about the person, or neutral at worst).
• In situations where portraying real-life figures is unavoidable, a script should be fact-checked to ensure accuracy. Indeed, all due diligence carried out to ensure such a portrayal is accurate in nature should be collated and saved. That way, in the unfortunate event defamation proceedings were brought in respect of the portrayal, a substantive body of evidence would exist to prove the truth of the allegations made in the applicable work.
• Aside from defamation concerns, it is important to be aware of other legal issues which may arise in respect of works which portray real-life figures. For instance, it is not uncommon for issues of privacy law (which prevents the misuse (usually by publication) of a person’s private information) and copyright law (which protects authors’ works from infringement) to crop up. Again, this is why is it is important that legal advice is sought at an early stage in respect of a creative project.

If you would like more information on these issues, please do get in touch with Mike Brookes and Sophie Anim of our Dispute Resolution team.