The latest project from television mogul Ryan Murphy is “Love Story,” which chronicles John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s famous romance. Months before the series premiered on Thursday, Feb. 12, Murphy publicly clashed with a member of the iconic Kennedy family.
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, criticized the television show via Instagram in June 2025.
“Lately, my news feed has been filled with pictures of my uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., a great man,” Schlossberg said via his Story at the time, according to Entertainment Weekly. “For those wondering whether his family was ever consulted, or has anything to do with the new show being made about him, the answer is no, and there’s really not much we can do.”
Schlossberg, 33, who is Caroline Kennedy’s son, shared his hope that some of the profits from “Love Story” would be donated to the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.
“For the record, I think admiration for my uncle John is great,” Schlossberg said. “What I don’t think is great is profiting off of it in a grotesque way.”
Murphy seemingly responded to Schlossberg’s criticism during a July 2025 appearance on California governor Gavin Newsom’s podcast.
“I thought it was an odd choice to be mad about your relative that you really don’t remember,” he said without calling out Schlossberg by name.
Schlossberg was six when JFK Jr. and Bessette died in a plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard in 1999. He slammed Murphy’s comments in a since-deleted Instagram post.
“Hey @ryanmurphyproductions: My earliest memories are of John calling me Jackolatern and ‘the nudist,’ picking me up from school, his Pontiac convertible. I remember being the ring bearer at his wedding and the day he died. I remember Wyclef singing at his funeral,” he wrote. “You’re making millions off John, making a public spectacle of it but won’t contribute any of your riches to the causes he championed, or the legacy of public service he represented.”
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Schlossberg also took aim at Paul Kelly, who portrays JFK Jr. in “Love Story.”
“Also odd that the actor playing the sexiest man alive is bloated!” he quipped.
Schlossberg later posted a photo of Murphy with the caption “pervert.” Murphy, who is gay, accused him of perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
“This is a centuries-old vilification meant to condemn and weaponize hate against gay people, and that’s exactly what he did,” Murphy told the New York Times for a November 2025 profile on Schlossberg. “And I received threats against my personal safety and that of my family because of it.”
Schlossberg told the outlet that his “pervert” comment was not about Murphy’s “personal life.”
“In my mind, that’s a form of perversion, to be so obsessed with somebody’s sexuality and their love life, to produce a multimillion-dollar series about them,” he said.
“Love Story” is one of several Murphy projects based on a true events. His “American Crime Story” anthology series has tackled O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, the assassination of Gianni Versace and Bill Clinton’s (Clive Owen) impeachment.
In addition to Kelly, “Love Story” stars Sarah Pidgeon (Carolyn Bessette), Naomi Watts (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), Grace Gummer (Caroline Kennedy), Leila George (Kelly Klein) and Noah Fearnley (Michael Bergin).
The first three episodes of “Love Story” premiered on Netflix on Thursday, Feb. 12. New episodes premiere Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
