Daryl Hannah has no love for “Love Story.”
The actress wrote a scathing essay for the New York Times published Friday slamming the Ryan Murphy-produced show, which highlights Hannah’s romance with John F. Kennedy Jr. before he fell in love with Carolyn Bessette.
Dree Hemingway plays Hannah in the series.
Daryl Hannah (pictured above with John F. Kennedy Jr.) slammed Ryan Murphy’s show “Love Story” in a scathing essay for the New York Times. Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Hannah is played by Dree Hemingway (above) in the show. Eric Liebowitz/FX
“I have long believed that engaging with distortion often amplifies it,” the 65-year-old actress wrote at the beginning of her essay.
“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,” Hannah continued. “The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident.”
Hannah insisted the series — which stars Paul Anthony Kelly as Kennedy Jr. and Sarah Pidgeon as Bessette — isn’t “a remotely accurate representation of my life, my conduct or my relationship with John.”
In her essay, Hannah said the show isn’t “a remotely accurate representation” of her life or her relationship with JFK Jr. (Hemingway as Hannah and Paul Anthony Kelly as JFK Jr. are pictured above) Steve Sands / New York Newswire / BACKGRID
“It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show,” Hannah (seen above at the “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in April 2025) said in her essay. GC Images
“The actions and behaviors attributed to me are untrue,” she added, accusing the show of “textbook misogyny” by framing her as a “rival” to Kennedy Jr. and Bessette’s relationship.
Hannah then called out specific moments in the show that she insists are inaccurate.
“I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties,” she 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.”
She also said “it’s appalling” that she has to “defend” herself against a TV show, reiterating that the “embellishments” of her personality in the program are “false.”
Hannah also claimed she’s gotten “hostile and threatening messages” from fans of the show (Kelly and Hemingway in the show, pictured above). FX
Later in her essay, Hannah (pictured above with JFK Jr. at the 1994 NBA Finals) called out the “Love Story” producers for not respecting the Kennedy family’s privacy. AP
Later in the essay, Hannah claimed that since the show premiered on February 12, she’s “received many hostile and even threatening messages from viewers who seem to believe the portrayal is factual.”
“My silence should not be mistaken for agreement with lies,” she continued, after explaining that she usually keeps quiet about her public perception. “Apparently, my discretion makes me a target.”
The “Splash” star also noted that the Kennedys are “notoriously private” and she’s “always honored their right to privacy,” unlike the makers of “Love Story.”
“Know that most (if not all) of those claiming to have any intimate knowledge of our personal lives are self-serving sensationalists trading in gossip, innuendo and speculation,” she wrote.
Hannah and JFK Jr. (seen above in 1994) had an on-again, off-again relationship from 1988 to 1994. Globe Photos/ZUMA Press Wire / Shutterstock
The exes (pictured boarding a plane for Hong Kong) broke up after JFK Jr.’s mom Jackie Onassis’ death. AP
Hannah and Kennedy Jr. had an on-again off-again relationship from 1988 to 1994.
Their romance came to an end after the death of Kennedy Jr.’s mother, Jackie Onassis, in 1994, and the death of Hannah’s dog.
Kennedy Jr. was walking the dog in Central Park when it got loose and was hit by a car.
According to the book “JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography,” Kennedy Jr. was “deeply resentful” that Hannah made him come to her dog’s funeral in Los Angeles while his mom was dying of cancer in New York.
JFK Jr. began dating Carolyn Bessette after his split from Hannah (Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon in “Love Story,” pictured above). FX
JFK Jr. and Bessette died in a plane crash in 1999. AP
After their breakup, Kennedy Jr. began dating Bessette, who he married in 1996. They both died in a 1999 plane crash alongside her sister, Lauren Bessette.
Hannah, meanwhile, has been married to rocker Neil Young since 2018.
“Love Story” airs weekly on Thursdays (9 p.m.) on FX and Fridays on Hulu.