Our Enduring Fascination With the Kennedys

Summary

The Daily | "Our Enduring Fascination With the Kennedys"

Date: March 29, 2026
Host: Rachel Abrams
Guest: Alexandra Jacobs (Culture writer, The New York Times)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into America’s enduring fascination with the Kennedy family, using the explosive popularity of Hulu’s miniseries "Love Story"—a dramatization of the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette—as a cultural touchstone. Host Rachel Abrams is joined by journalist Alexandra Jacobs to explore why this series is hitting such a nerve, how it blends fact and fantasy, and what our continued obsession with the Kennedys and Cinderella stories says about American culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Phenomenon of "Love Story"

• The East Village restaurant Panna 2, featured in the series as JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette's date spot, suddenly sees a surge in visitors attracted by the show's depiction ([00:33]-[02:00]).
• "Love Story" is now Hulu's most-streamed limited series ever, with 40 million viewing hours and a massive cultural ripple effect across TikTok, fashion, and beyond ([07:04]).
• Retailers are capitalizing on the show’s influence—vintage Calvin Klein and Prada are trending, and iconic NYC locations shown in the series are experiencing renewed hype ([07:04], [07:49]).
• The show is executive produced by Ryan Murphy, known for dramatizing real-life figures in a heightened, sometimes "cartoonish" style ([08:14]-[09:39]).

America’s Fascination with the Kennedys

• Alexandra Jacobs suggests the Kennedys endure in cultural attention because, as a family, they represent "the closest thing to royalty we've ever had in America" ([02:35]), and because new generations keep them in the spotlight—RFK Jr., Jack Schlossberg on social media, etc. ([04:04]).
• The family’s narrative is continually renewed by their ongoing presence in politics, business, and social media ([15:18]).

The Series as a Cinderella Story

• "Love Story" taps into the classic American fascination with Cinderella tales: an ordinary woman entering a realm of glamour and privilege ([13:50]).
• Alexandra Jacobs:
  "The feeling was, if he could choose her, then someone like him could choose me. What did she do to get a guy like him so entranced with her?" ([14:27])

Carolyn Bessette: Glamour and Enigma

• Little is known about the real Carolyn Bessette, allowing the show’s creators to cast her as "elusive, ambivalent, private, and ambitious" ([18:14]).
• Jacobs:
  "She seems glamorous. And what is glamour? You know, it's mysterious. She seems glamorous and mysterious and unknowable." ([18:59])
• This mystery allows audiences to project their desires and fantasies onto her character, reinforcing allure ([18:54]-[20:23]).

The 1990s Nostalgia Factor

• The show's styling—minimalist, high-end basics—and portrayal of pre-digital 1990s New York City are a huge draw, especially for younger audiences who find that world aspirational or exotic ([21:19]-[24:31]).
• "Nostalgia for a time before iPhones... when creative people could afford to live in Manhattan... and writing for magazines or working for a fashion designer seemed like a viable career path." (Alexandra Jacobs, [23:35])
• Rachel Abrams draws parallels with the enduring appeal of "Sex and the City," where the city and its era are as captivating as the characters ([25:23]).

Cultural Backlash and Ethical Questions

• Sharp criticism from Jack Schlossberg (JFK Jr.'s nephew) and Daryl Hannah (JFK Jr.'s ex-girlfriend) centers on the show’s liberties with real people’s lives:
  • Schlossberg accused Ryan Murphy of exploiting his family without consultation ([29:44]-[30:26]).
  • Murphy retorted:
    "I thought it was an odd choice to be mad about your relative that you really don't remember." ([30:26])
  • Daryl Hannah's op-ed in The New York Times:
    "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."
    "When entertainment borrows a real person's name, it can permanently impact her reputation." ([32:06])
• The pair discuss the ethical boundary between creative license and respect for real people, ultimately noting that fame complicates both the vulnerability to exploitation and the power to respond ([33:55]-[36:18]).

The Streisand Effect and Modern Attention Economy

• Abrams points out the "Streisand effect": controversies and bans often intensify public interest ([34:43]-[35:30]).
• "The number of people who have refused to watch the show because they side with Jack Schlossberg or Daryl Hannah is less than the number of people who are watching it because they wanna be in the conversation and know what all the fuss is about." (Rachel Abrams, [35:30])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Fashion as Cultural Rebirth:
  "It's the best thing that happened to Calvin Klein since Brooke Shields in the jeans."
  – Alexandra Jacobs ([08:06])

• 90s Style Through Two Lenses:
  "Carolyn Bessette's style on this show is a Rorschach test... Either you look at her and you think ... this looks like the Gap ... or your reaction is this is the chicest thing I've ever seen."
  – Rachel Abrams ([22:31])

• Cultural Recurrence and Renewal:
  "For years, [the Kennedys] embodied a realization of the American dream ... while, yes, also having tragic elements that give it that Shakespearean quality."
  – Alexandra Jacobs ([15:57])

• On Carolyn Bessette’s Enduring Appeal:
  "She seems glamorous and mysterious and unknowable."
  – Alexandra Jacobs ([18:59])

• On Entertainment and Ethics:
  "If you want the press when it's time to get your side of the story out ... but then you don't like it if other creative entities ... that's challenging."
  – Alexandra Jacobs ([35:30])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Introduction & Panna 2's sudden fame ([00:33]–[02:51])
• Why 'Love Story' resonates right now ([02:59]–[07:04])
• The Kennedy dynasty’s lasting grip on culture ([04:04]–[06:24], [15:18])
• Carolyn Bessette, enigma of the series ([17:30]–[21:19])
• Nostalgia for 1990s NYC & style ([21:19]–[25:57])
• America’s love of Cinderella stories ([13:50]–[15:00])
• Cultural criticism and controversy ([29:04]–[36:37])
• Reflections and sign-off ([36:43]–[36:59])

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Conclusion

The episode expertly unpacks the Kennedy mythos, the latest media interpretations of American royalty, and why certain stories—especially those woven through glamour, tragedy, and nostalgia—maintain an unbreakable hold on the public imagination. Through discussions of audience fascination, fashion, cultural memory, and ethical boundaries in dramatizing real lives, listeners gain a multidimensional understanding of why the Kennedys remain, as Jacobs puts it, "creatures of glossy magazines" and why "Love Story" has become the rare, zeitgeist-defining TV event.

Transcript

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[Rachel Abrams]

From the new york times, I'm rachel abrams and this is the daily on Sunday. Here in Manhattan. Downtown in the East Village, there's this tiny Indian restaurant called Panna 2. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, but like any restaurant that survives, it has its charms. For Panna 2. One of those charms is that it is filled with Christmas lights. Absolutely covered. Like, imagine the most Christmas lights you could fit into a restaurant and then double or triple that. That's how many lights are in Panitou.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

I wonder what their electric bill is.

[Rachel Abrams]

Panitou has been a novelty for New Yorkers for decades.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

We lived in the area for like a couple years, so we, but we,

[Rachel Abrams]

we've never been in here. But lately it's been drawing a different kind of crowd.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

I was asking my mom like, where should we go for dinner? And she was like, you should try like, you know, the place that was in Love Story.

[Rachel Abrams]

Love Story, the fictionalized retelling of the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. Son of a president, one of the most famous New yorkers of the 1990s, and Carolyn Bessette, the Calvin Klein publicist whose relationship with JFK Jr. Vaulted her into what the show portrays as an unwelcome spotlight. In the series, JFK Jr takes her to the unpretentious and empty Panettu on their first date.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

This your go to date spot?

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Yeah, I'm a sucker for a laminated menu.

[Rachel Abrams]

The show, which ended this week, has been ascending into a real cultural moment. Even if you haven't heard of Love Story, you might still be aware of it or at least know about the kind of phenomenon.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

It's become a huge thing on TikTok.

[Rachel Abrams]

Like all my friends, it's what people are texting about, posting about, criticizing, loving. It's impacting fashion, it's impacting people's memories, a lot of people's parents. And suddenly, and this is according to Hulu, it is the most streamed limited series in its history.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

And the craven's not going to know

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

the Closest thing to royalty we've ever had in America. So I think this is, like, very impactful in the.

[Rachel Abrams]

It's got its own center of gravity. So much so that a single scene in a single episode could. Could bring a fresh wave of business to a small Indian restaurant in Manhattan,

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

motivated us to finally go. I don't even care if the food's not that great. Like, I just want to go for the vibes.

[Rachel Abrams]

So today we're going to explore why this show has become so popular right now. My colleague Alexander Jacobs, who writes about culture here at the Times, will join me to talk about nostalgia, the Kennedys, and the eternal allure of Cinderella stories. It's Sunday, March 29th. Alexandra Jacobs, welcome to the Daily. I see that you are wearing a leopard coat and big sunglasses and very simple, minimal jewelry. Did you dress, perhaps, for our conversation today?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Not consciously, but I have found that the aesthetic of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy has snuck into all of our wardrobes.

[Rachel Abrams]

I think that is exactly right. Speaking from personal experience, we're gonna talk about that. We're gonna talk about a lot of things today. But firstly, Alexandra, you have spent a lot of time thinking and writing about America's fascination with the Kennedys. You wrote a piece last summer, long before Love Story started airing, about the continued cultural fascination with JFK Jr. Specifically, what prompted you to write that piece?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Well, the occasion for the piece was that CNN was doing a documentary about jfk. My reporting for the piece suggested that this documentary was gonna happen anyway. It wasn't just because Ryan Murphy was coming out with a show that CNN had done this documentary. However, I felt the timing was a little bit close. Like, something about this guy is in the air right now. You know, the Kennedys have never left the political conversation, but with RFK Jr in the mix, Jack Schlossberg on social media, there was just a sort of swirl. Swirl of the family and around this couple. So.

[Rachel Abrams]

Okay, so speaking of the show, for people who are listening to this but have not yet seen it, no spoilers, but tell us what it's about.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

The show is a pretty simple idea. It traces the romance between John F. Kennedy, Jr. Who was at the time the country's most eligible bachelor.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

I know, like, five people here.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Well, you wouldn't know that from the

[Alexandra Jacobs]

way everyone's staring at you, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, who was an unknown, basically. You know, she worked at Calvin Klein.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

I don't want to get your hopes up.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Please. I'm not about begging in front of all of my closest friends.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

You Know where I work? Try reception.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

And they are living and falling in love in the 90s, which was really a prosperous, slightly frivolous time when glamour industries such as magazine, publishing and fashion were very much centered in the office and the street.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

How was that night, Cap?

[Rachel Abrams]

I ended up at the tunnel, rolling around in the ball pit with Mickey

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Rourke, like, hooking up. I don't know. I don't remember. But the sun was coming up when I left, so now I'm just bracing for impact.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

It's based on a popular book called Once Upon a Time by Elizabeth Beller, which is a biography of Carolyn Bissette Kennedy. And you know, that title, it just evokes the fairy tale nature of the romance and sort of puts her in a category with another tragic figure, Princess Diana. It's sort of this idea of American royalty, an American princess who died before her time.

[Rachel Abrams]

The idea, at least, is a normal woman plucked from obscurity who ends up in this royal family. And it ultimately, at least in the show's telling, is her undoing.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Is her undoing. Exactly.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

I promise you, our personal lives will be off limits to the public.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Yeah, you can't promise that, though. You've. You've never been married before. You have no idea how this will escalate everything.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

I know how to handle the press.

[Rachel Abrams]

Any show that breaks through these days, when our attention is so divided, there's so much competing for, it feels really noteworthy. Do we know how many people are actually watching Love Story?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Hulu is saying this is the most streamed limited series they've ever had. I think 40 million viewing hours. Not only is it streamed, people are interacting with it in real time. They are making their own content on Instagram and other online platforms. You can see on retail websites that demand is up for vintage Calvin Klein, vintage Prada, CIO Bigelow. The famous apothecary in Manhattan's West Village has been stormed by women, and probably some seeking tortoiseshell headbands such as Carolyn Bissette Wore. There'd been JFK Jr lookalike contests in multiple cities. And so, you know, it's not just a show, it's a phenomenon.

[Rachel Abrams]

You mentioned Calvin Klein. I saw that they had even done their own, like, 90s edit. They and others are really capitalizing on this moment to sell Carolyn Bessette inspired fashion. Everybody is trying to sell me, like, here are the pieces that you could wear so you can look like them.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

It's quite extraordinary. It's the best thing that happened to Calvin Klein since Brooke Shields in The jeans in the jeans.

[Rachel Abrams]

The famous jeans. Yeah, that's right.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

That's right.

[Rachel Abrams]

Which also makes a cameo on the show. And speaking of the show, this is a series that is executive produced by Ryan Murphy. Tell us about the kinds of shows he is known for and where this fits into those.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Ryan Murphy is one of the most successful producers in Hollywood. You know, I go back to Nip Tuck and Glee. Mm.

[Rachel Abrams]

Glee, by the way, another big cultural phenomenon we should know.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yes, that's right. However, you know, in recent years, he's become known for these types of things, like American Crime story about the O.J. simpson case and the Clinton impeachment and Monster, which spotlighted Jeffrey Dahmer and Love Story. It's not true crime, but it has an element of kind of ripped from

[Rachel Abrams]

the headlines, true story TV drama.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yeah. And the Kennedys might say it's a crime.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Right.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

But. Right. It has that feeling of like, we're gonna reenact something you remember. I mean, that's what I think is extraordinary about it. It's not that far away.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

I see you got a new bike.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

I did, yeah. I reported the last one stolen, but I think the case has gone cold.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

And yet still no lock.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Well, you know, baby steps.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Maybe we start with a helmet and work our way up from there over

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

this set of hair. I don't.

[Rachel Abrams]

Obviously, the public has devoured the show. Can you just talk a little bit about how it's been received critically?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Well, the reviews haven't been as positive as the audience reception. I think the New Yorker called it a forgettable elegy for Gen X. Yikes. I think that, Look, Ryan Murphy shows are cartoonish. It's a cartoonish portrayal of something that lives in collective memory. I think for anyone who lived through that time of the media or even just used it for research, it's gonna not be entirely satisfying.

[Rachel Abrams]

And just to explain why, perhaps they found it cartoonish. A lot of people have pointed to something that I personally found sort of hard to watch, which was the depiction of Jacqueline Onassis. There's a scene where she's dancing to. What is she dancing to?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

She's dancing to a song from the musical Camelot. Each evening from December to December, she's dying of lymphoma. And there's a. The official portrait of Jack Kennedy is hanging somehow in her living room on Fifth Avenue, and she is dancing of Camelot. I kept thinking of, you know, black swan. I don't know. Or, you know, a dying swan on a belly. It was cringe. There was a fleeting wisp of glory called Camelot.

[Rachel Abrams]

So now that we have both established that we found that scene of her dancing both cringy and campy, this feels like a good moment to ask you, overall, did you like the series?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I hated it. And I watched it. I watched it for the same reason I watched not only Dynasty when it first came out in the 80s, but I watched the remake of Dynasty, you know, even though I found it far inferior. I mean, there's certainly something escapist about watching depictions of rich people. You know, I was intrigued to see how these real life characters were portrayed, and some of them are portrayed very well. But I think also it's that kind of thing where I'm as fascinated with the discourse around the show as I am with the show itself.

[Rachel Abrams]

Well, then let us discourse. We're gonna take a quick break, and when we come back, we are going to take a deep dive into some of the reasons that the show is as big of a hit as it

[Alexandra Jacobs]

is we might be in a new era of it's so bad, it's bingeable, right?

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[Rachel Abrams]

Alexandra Jacobs, why do you think the show has been so popular?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Well, one thing is it's a classic Cinderella story, and those always resonate.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Typically, our clients make appointments.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

I'm a 33 waist.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I know Carolyn Bissette was not sweeping out a garret. You know, she was not from a poor family, but she wasn't a Kennedy or a celebrity.

[Rachel Abrams]

She's not famous.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yeah, she was not famous.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

How can I make it out to you?

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

By swiping your credit card.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Or you could let me take you to dinner.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

And when he chose her, the question was, well, why her? Why not?

[Rachel Abrams]

Why not me? That's what every woman in America's probably like. Why not me?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yeah, yeah. I think the feeling was, if he could choose her, then someone like him could choose me. What did she do to get a guy like him so entranced with her?

[Rachel Abrams]

It's also, by the way, the Cinderella story is in some ways why I think perhaps people in the UK are really interested in the story of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Right. Or perhaps go back farther to the now King Charles, the then Prince Charles, and Princess Diana, which also, of course, ended very tragically. I think that's even more of a peril.

[Rachel Abrams]

And like Princess Diana, people are still really interested in the Kennedy story, including people who are too young to remember any of the people that we are talking about in the show. I wonder why you think the public fascination with the Kennedys has endured.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Well, I think that's partly because of the continued participation of the Kennedys in public life. They carry themselves as standard bearers for certain American values. They seem to embody a time of America, you know, rightly or wrongly, that where there was sort of a sense of promise and expansion and dream, American dream. I think they. For years, they embodied a realization of the American dream, which is that you could come from a. An ethnic group that was frowned upon.

[Rachel Abrams]

Marginalized.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yeah, marginalized, exactly. And achieve the highest office of the land and sort of like the ultimate glamour and success, business success, romantic success, while, yes, also having tragic elements that give it that Shakespearean quality.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

I can't help but sometimes wonder how I'd be

[Rachel Abrams]

remembered if I hadn't.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

If I wasn't what? America's widow.

[Rachel Abrams]

Right. The family's tragedies have very much become part of their public story.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Well, also, don't forget they were running in parallel with the development of the media, of which this show is only the latest iteration. So you have, you know, Joe Kennedy's exploits were covered in newspapers, and Jacqueline Bouvier met John Kennedy when she was a photographer. And then when he's shot, when John Kennedy is shot, there's the Zapruder film, and it's covered on television. You Know, then you get to this generation we're talking about, and you have magazine print magazines and tabloid television and tabloid newspapers. And now you've got the Internet. So, you know, the Kennedys of today are creatures of the Internet and of social media, like RFK Jr. Jack Schlossberg. When we're watching the Ryan Murphy show, we are looking at a couple that was very much a creature of. They were creatures of glossy magazines.

[Rachel Abrams]

Okay, so that's the Kennedys. I want to turn to Carolyn Bessette.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

There's a lot of big stuff we have to talk about before we can get married, Like. Like how our lives really fit together.

[Rachel Abrams]

You know, something I found really interesting as I was doing some research for this episode is just how little there is out there about Carolyn Bessette. She was photographed a lot, but she very rarely gave interviews. In fact, I think she quite famously declined a couple of major interviews. And I wonder how you think that vacuum of information about the real life Carolyn Bessette contributed to her portrayal on the show.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I think it gave the show's creators a feeling of license to create a character. And this character is elusive, ambivalent, private. Did I say ambitious already?

[Rachel Abrams]

You know, she doesn't like the spotlight either. She doesn't need it. She doesn't like the spotlight. She's needing it on the show.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

What a novelty. You know, it's so rare to find everyone's oversharing now. You have to conscientiously object to not give of yourself online and photograph yourself, be photographed. So what exists of her is really not very much.

[Rachel Abrams]

And in the absence of that, I guess people have to or get to project their own images onto her.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I mean, she seems glamorous. And what is glamour? You know, it's mysterious. She seems glamorous and mysterious and unknowable.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Aren't you gonna go get it?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

No, just let it ring. Her character reminds me of an embodiment of this book that came out in the 90s that was called the Rules. Keep going.

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[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Screening him.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

What, did you read that in the Rules or something?

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

It's just feeling a little intense.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yeah, as it should be. It was a huge bestseller. We all made fun of it. That book was sort of a dating guide for women that was instructing them to let men chase them, which in the 90s was a very retrograde concept. It seems to be, you know, coming back again. But there was a phrase in that book, be a creature like no other. And I think that Carolyn Bessette seems to have embodied the idea of being a creature like no other. Whether I have no idea if she ever read the rules or this was just who she was, I think it probably was just who she was. But she seems very self assured. And, you know, John Kennedy Jr. Was besieged not only. I mean, he had women throwing themselves at him all the time. You know what we know about her. And as depicted on the show, she did not seem particularly wowed by him.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

No, you had to deny the engagement because you couldn't handle the world knowing there was a woman on planet Earth who might not want to marry you. He was looking for the escape hatch now, huh?

[Rachel Abrams]

Right. So the fact that we know relatively little about her might have given the show's creators this feeling of license to kind of fill in the gaps in the way that was the most dramatic, would make the most entertainment, would make it the most watchable. And the character that they created is glamorous and mysterious and most importantly, perhaps seemingly immune and maybe even put off by JFK Jr. S fame and spotlight. She's basically portrayed in opposition to all the other women in the universe of this show as being the only woman, perhaps, who is able to resist the sexiest man alive, which almost certainly flattens the real world experience of these two people, but nevertheless makes for extremely watchable television.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Right.

[Rachel Abrams]

Okay, let's talk about another major element of the show here, and this has been talked about a lot, which is the style and fashion of the 90s, and specifically also Carolyn Bessette's style and fashion.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Hey, what is that that you're wearing? It's really kind of terrific.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Oh, I just threw it on this morning.

[Rachel Abrams]

It feels like, as I mentioned, every clothing retailer, everything on Instagram, is trying to sell me some version of her style. How would you describe the way that

[Alexandra Jacobs]

she dresses in the series, Carolyn Bissett's style? I think of it as a sort of very high end version of, frankly, the Gap, which I don't mean as an insult. I mean, Carolyn Kennedy was wearing really sort of basic minimalist items, which is really kind of a palate cleanser after the rococo, fancy, over the top style of the 80s that was perhaps embodied more by the Trumps. This was like a kind of broom. And, you know, the labels she preferred, like Prada or Yohji Yamamoto, these were very kind of stark lines and classic silhouettes. But I think part of the appeal is that they're refreshing to the eye.

[Rachel Abrams]

But wait, can I just say, though, that, like, I feel like Carolyn Bessette's style on this show is a Rorschach test because either you look at her and you think as you do this, this is, this looks like the Gap. It's just like simple jeans, long sleeve white shirts, suede skirts with knee high boots and a black top. Like what is so special about this? Or your reaction is this is the chicest thing I've ever seen. All I want is a bias cut slip dress that's and like simple heels, no jewelry. She was famously never wore any jewelry. Apparently that's a resurgence, not wearing jewelry. So like the show has created these two polls. I've seen articles saying what is so special about this is the Gap and how can we all dress like her.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

That's right. And I really do think there's. For younger people, there's probably some level of exhaustion with how much you are all marketed to and how much trends. So to see these sort of clean, simple lines must be very appealing.

[Rachel Abrams]

The other sort of visual element of this show that I think is appealing to people is just the portrayal of the 90s.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Ah, the 90s in New York City. I never expected to see this era romanticized in the way that it has been. I think that there is tremendous nostalgia for a time before iPhones, certainly a time before 9 11. A time when creative people could afford to live in Manhattan, perhaps with roommates, but you know, still knock out a living there. A time when creative industries were unthreatened by artificial intelligence. And you know, writing for magazines or working for a fashion designer seemed like a viable career path. You had a phone on your desk. You might have had a cell phone, but it didn't contain. You weren't ordering your lunch. You know, you weren't like ordering your lunch from an app. You were maybe wandering down the street.

[Rachel Abrams]

You were anonymous, you were anonymous and you were not documented. Not every single moment of your life was under the microscope.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

There were no location services, not that I was aware of anyway.

[Rachel Abrams]

So you think people are looking at this and feeling either nostalgic for it or pining for it if they never got to experience it.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Honestly, as someone who lived through it, I'm not nostalgic for it, but I think there's a great curiosity about it,

[Rachel Abrams]

but you can understand why. Actually you're bringing up a good point. Cause if you didn't live through it, it's this idealized version of the 90s that maybe you're fascinated by. And like it's the same way.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I was nostalgic for the 70s and the 90s and I looked at those 70s fashions, which, by the way, the 90s recycled. I mean, every 20 years it all gets recycled. And Yeah, I mean, I just think young people can't. Digital natives can't imagine a time when their phones didn't dictate every aspect of their life.

[Rachel Abrams]

So I feel like the appeal of Love Story in terms of the era that it portrays and how it could appeal to an entirely new generation is so similar to Sex and the City. Sex and the City. The City was a character. The fashion was a character. And even if you didn't live through, you look at that. And I think that brought an entire generation of women to New York City.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I'm sure. And you know, and there's also analogy. And you see these places like Sex and the City had Magnolia Bakery.

[Rachel Abrams]

And just like they're going to Panettu. They're.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yes. Or co Bigelow or whatever to get her headband.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

You went a little rogue with the order, but I was pleasantly surprised.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Well, I went backpacking through India after I graduated and I learned very quickly that ordering chicken tikka masala is a sure fire way to get made fun of.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

You bat bagged.

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

Yeah.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Huh.

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[Alexandra Jacobs]

I mean, I think people want to revisit the rhythms of dating life before apps, before the, you know, Tinder and Hinge and all that and Grindr and Bumble and all those things. Just listing. Just keep going. Yeah, keep going. Because the fact is, you know, I mean, dating has always been difficult, but it's funny.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Yeah.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

To my surprise or to my inevitably, that this is now seems like something romantic and exotic and interesting and.

[Rachel Abrams]

Well, no, I feel like this is. You've kind of summed up why the show has become so popular. It's got some really key ingredients. It is a Cinderella story set in an idealized 90s New York that everybody wants to be in. And it involves America's royal family like. Like it has been a world war. It's a perfect cocktail. It is a perfect world building show that people are fascinated by and want to be in. And on top of that, I think one other thing that is driving people to this show is the controversy around it. And when we come back, we're going to talk about the backlash and the controversy to Love Story and whether ultimately it has been good or bad for the show. We'll be right back.

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[Rachel Abrams]

Alexandra we have talked a lot so far about the appeal of the show, the reception of the show. We have not yet talked about the criticism, not the reviews, but the actual criticism and controversy of this show, specifically that it has faced some very withering criticism from two people in particular, Jack Schlossberg, JFK Jr. S nephew, and Daryl Hannah, the actress that JFK Jr. Was in an off again, on again relationship with in real life. One of the central complaints that they both had was essentially that the show took a lot of liberties that were not necessarily based on real life.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Right. Well, well, Jack Schlossberg, who's running for Congress, is making the point that Ryan Murphy is making a tremendous amount of money off his family and this portrayal of his family without actually talking to them or getting any kind of authorization or participation.

[LifeLock Advertiser]

The guy knows nothing about what he's talking about and he's making a ton

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

of money on a grotesque display of someone else's life.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I would hope Ryan Murphy actually responded to this criticism when he was on Gavin Newsom's podcast. He was asked about Schlossberg's critique and he said it was, quote, I thought it was an odd choice to be mad about your

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relative that you really don't remember.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Which, you know, is that for him to say that, you know, like, it

[Rachel Abrams]

seems like it would have been so easy for him to say, I don't know literally anything else, like I'm sorry he feels that way or we tried to respect the legacy of the Kennedy family, but the fact that he was like, well, he didn't know him anyway. I don't know why he feels like that. Like what? What do we make of that?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Well, what else do you expect from a producer who had a whole show called Feud? I think it's quite audacious. It shows his irreverence.

[Rachel Abrams]

That's a polite way of putting it. Grotesquely disrespectful.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I think Ryan Murphy is starting from out of a different gate. He's just not even engaging on the same level. He's saying something that will stir up. Intentionally or not, he's saying something that will stir up the dialogue. And even though I side with Jack Schlossberg on this, I'm also Team Murphy in the sense that I believe he, you know, should have the freedom to do this. Which might bring us to Daryl Hannah's opinion piece.

[Rachel Abrams]

Yes. The other major public criticism of the show came from the actress Daryl Hannah, who dated JFK Jr. Before he met Carolyn Bassette. They were on again, off again in real life. They were on again, off again on the show. She is portrayed on the show as clingy and desperate and whiny and above all, rejected. He doesn't want her.

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

Why did you want to get back

[Alexandra Jacobs]

together again if you're just gonna act like this?

[Casual Conversationalist 2]

You came back to me on the

[Casual Conversationalist 1]

condition of a clean slate, which you agreed to, and yet every time I look at you, your mind is clearly someplace else.

[Rachel Abrams]

The real Daryl Hannah wrote an op ed in the New York Times titled, how Can Love Story Get Away with this? And she says in this piece, quote, 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. And she goes on. In the weeks since the series aired, I have received many hostile and even threatening messages from viewers who seem to believe the portrayal is factual. When Entertainment borrows a real person's name, it can permanently impact her reputation. Alexandra, what do you make of that critique?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I mean, I think it's a valid critique. Legally, Ryan Murphy's absolutely fine. Creators, producers, directors, writers have tremendous latitude with public figures, but. So she wrote an article about it. This is one of the most popular articles, I think, on the New York Times site for a couple of days. And the comments reflect readers agree. Many readers say we're refusing to watch. You know, I can't account for the Many, many, many others who are gobbling up the performance. Some people think this is the price you pay for being famous.

[Rachel Abrams]

But also, I mean, if I was Daryl Hannah and, you know, nobody can get inside of a relationship, who knows how she actually who it was. But nonetheless, I mean, I can understand being really upset by having such a negative, unflattering portrayal of me out there that some people might think was true. But that's what entertainment does. It takes real stories and warps them all the time. This is not necessarily a new complaint. And I just don't know. While I can understand why she'd be upset about this, I can't figure out where do we think the ethical boundaries are when it comes from taking true stories and fictionalizing them.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

You know, my. I have this old boss, this editor, the New York Observer. He'd say, if you run into a celebrity on the street, just interview them. Interview them. Just go right up to them. He said, yeah. He said, they chose this life. I'll never forget him saying that. And, you know, he wasn't wrong. I mean, I get his point, but,

[Rachel Abrams]

you know, but okay, but in Daryl Hannah's case, if she had been interviewed, if she had been consulted, I mean,

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I think that's where it would have inoculated. Exactly. If Ryan Murphy and his staff had been able to get the buy in of now, I think, on the other hand, they're portraying a whole family. So I would have been difficult because we, as we know, there are disagreements within the family and that's part of what he's portraying. So I think to get buy in would have been very complicated.

[Rachel Abrams]

But what he does have, going back to the idea that we're sitting here and talking about this is attention from all of this attention. Have you ever heard of the Streisand effect?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Yes. Reiterate for me what it is that you.

[Rachel Abrams]

Okay, so the Streisand effect. So Barbra Streisand once sued a photographer for taking a photo of her house in Malibu. And what do you guess the result of this?

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Oh, everyone knew her action.

[Rachel Abrams]

Everybody knows the house. Everybody knows more people probably want to go to the house to see the famous Barbra Streisand lawsuit house. And I would guess. And I have no data. I'm about to say something that I have absolutely zero data for, but I'm going to guess that the number of people who have refused to watch the show because they side with Jack Schlossberg or Daryl Hanna is less than the number of people who are watching it because they wanna be in the conversation and know what all the fuss is about.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I mean, listen, if you are using publicity in the press, in, in your career, in your life, that changes the equation a little bit, right? Like if you want the press when it's time to get your side of the story out there or your pictures out there or whatever, but then you don't like it if other creative entities, you know, you want to make the rules for every portrayal of yourself. That's challenging. So the same fame that makes her vulnerable to what Ryan Murphy has done is the fame that enables her to place a highly read op ed piece in the New York Times about what's happened. You have to factor that into the math about how to feel about the situation.

[Rachel Abrams]

It's interesting because in some ways, the op ed, like the show, asks the audience to make a choice. And the choice is how much sympathy do you have? How much empathy do you have for somebody, real or not, born into it or not, that has that kind of fame and privilege.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

Exactly.

[Rachel Abrams]

Alexandra Jacobs. Always a pleasure to talk to you, Rachel.

[Alexandra Jacobs]

I'm always available. All too available. I'm not a rules girl when it comes to coming on the Daily.

[Rachel Abrams]

Today's episode was produced by Alex Baron with help from Luke Van der Plug and Tina Antolini. It was edited by Wendy Doerr with help from Michael Benoit. Contains music by Marianne Lozano, Dan Powell, Diane Wong and Alicia Baytube and was engineered by Rowan Ni Misto. Our production manager is Franny Kartoth. That's it for the Daily. I'm Rachel Abrams. See you tomorrow.

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