Trending Now: Daryl Hannah slams the ‘lies’ that Love Story spread about her – Fans React

Daryl Hannah is wildly private but her portrayal in the hit TV drama Love Story was so misguided she claims she had to emerge to untangle fact from fiction. The show, directed by Ryan Murphy, follows the romance and tragic deaths of JFK Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette, drawing inspiration from Elizabeth Beller’s 2024 book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.

However, as the show spotlights the highs and lows of the infamous couple’s incredibly publicised relationship, Daryl Hannah (who dated JFK Jr. for five years before Bessette) has been dragged down in the process.

The blow to her character was so extreme that it pushed Daryl back into the spotlight.

Last week, the actress and philanthropist published a March 2026 op-ed in the New York Times, debunking her depiction in the series a month after it’s release.

What did Daryl Hannah say at Love Story?

Daryl has slammed the “lies” and “misogyny” on display in her depiction in Love Story.

“I have long believed that engaging with distortion often amplifies it,” Daryl 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. The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident.

“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?”

In response to an interview with one of the show’s producers where Daryl Hannah’s character is described as “an adversary” to the couple’s plotline, Daryl explains how a “living person is not a narrative device.”

Daryl also explained why she has decided to speak up now.

“I know that as an actress I will be in the public eye,” she wrote. “I’ve endured a number of outrageous lies, crappy stories and unflattering characterizations before. I chose not to battle them but to focus on my work and respect my loved ones by keeping my private life private.

“But my silence should not be mistaken for agreement with lies. Apparently, my discretion makes me a target.”

Daryl is intent on debunking the “lies” about her character so she can “continue doing the meaningful work [she] loves”.

“For decades, my work has focused on environmental advocacy, documentary filmmaking and animal-assisted therapy for seniors living with dementia and Alzheimer’s,” she wrote.

“My professional life is built on compassion and responsibility. Reputation is not about ego.

“Like any career, doing good work requires an intact reputation. This is why I am choosing to stand up for myself now.”

Daryl ultimately ends the op-ed with a call to action for readers.

“May love and truth prevail,” she wrote, warning the public to not believe everything they read or watch.

This response is not the only backlash the show has received from the real-life personalities that Love Story portrays.

Kennedy family members have also clapped back and shared their thoughts on how their family’s history is being immortalised. From Jack Schlossberg on CBS Sunday Morning and Rory Kennedy at the Sundance Film Festival to other close friends of the family like Annette Bening and Lisa DePaulo, Murphy’s portrayal of the ‘it couple’ – as expected – has certainly packed some heat.

This decision to slam producers not only serves to save Daryl’s reputation, but also raises alarm bells around how easily people can equate, as Daryl Hannah writes, “dramatization” and “documented fact”, particularly in the digital world.

While we may love the show’s 90s nostalgia style and heartthrob cast, the series (and it’s reaction from celebrities) also tells a bigger story about what it set out to represent: a life lived (and known) through tabloids.

Daryl Hannah and John F. Kennedy’s relationship

Daryl Hannah, 65, is an actress and philanthropist best known for her roles in the Kill Bill franchise and Splash.

While the star maintains a relatively private life now, Daryl most recently presented the Best Film Editing award at the Academy Awards in 2025, paying tribute to Ukraine and Kill Bill by voicing the traditional Ukrainian battle cry “Slava Ukraini!” before she spoke.

Daryl, married to Neil Young since 2018, is known for her on-and-off relationship with JFK Jr., which was heavily publicised.

After meeting on vacation in the Caribbean in the early 80s, the pair reconnected in 1988 at the wedding of JFK Jr.’s aunt Lee Radziwill and director Herb Ross, who had worked with Daryl on Steel Magnolias.

Following intense speculation about the couple’s pending nuptials and tabloid fixtures about the “fire” and “fight” of their relationships, as written by Amelia Barlow in JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, the pair ultimately split in 1994, as the show Love Story portrays.

Daryl Hannah fiercely denies plot point in Love Story

In the series, Daryl – played by Dree Hemingway – is shown heavily using drugs and pressuring JFK Jr. into commitment – a plotline the actress heavily denies.

“I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties,” Daryl wrote. “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.”

While Daryl wrote in her op-ed that she often ignores the tabloids and their poor portrayals, naming them “bird cage liners” after advice she received from Jacqueline Onassis herself, this portrayal in this biopic did her so dirty that she couldn’t help but fire back.

Where is Daryl Hannah now?

While Daryl has mostly taken a step back from acting to pursue documentary film making and environmental advocacy, she does have some recent acting and directing titles to her name.

Most recently, Daryl acted in the 2021 comedy mini-series The Now and the 2023 film Buckle Up.

She also directed the 2018 film Paradox, a 2022 documentary about Neil Young’s album Barn and a 2025 documentary that follows Neil Young’s 2023 solo acoustic tour.

In 2024, Daryl spoke in an interview with AXS TV on her Asperger’s Syndrome diagnosis, now classified as autism spectrum disorder, and it’s contribution to her taking a step back in her film career.

Other celebrities who have slammed Daryl Hannah’s portrayal

Rosanna Arquette, an American actress known for Desperately Seeking Susan, After Hours, Pulp Fiction, and Crash, has also broken her silence about Daryl’s portrayal in the series.

In an Instagram post on March 9, Rosanna showed her support for Daryl by saying: “I love Daryl Hannah. She’s a great woman, a great actor, writer, director and activist for the environment for years.”

“She is also an animal whisperer,” she writes. “Her work in the world has been epic. The portrayal of her on the streaming thing is bulls–t.”

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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