Michael C. Hall appeared in The Crown as John F. Kennedy, but is the way the show depicts him as a supposed drug addict historically accurate? Created by Frost/Nixon screenwriter Peter Morgan, The Crown is a historical drama that airs on Netflix and chronicles the reign of British royal Queen Elizabeth II (played by Claire Foy and Olivia Coleman). The show has spawned four seasons so far, with each covering major events that have occurred during the monarch’s rule – from her coronation and the Suez Crisis to the political rise of Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles’ marriage to Diana Spencer.
The Crown has been showered with critical acclaim, but several concerns have been raised over its historical accuracy. For example, the first season was criticized for suggesting Queen Elizabeth and prime minister Winston Churchill had a tense relationship - despite evidence to the contrary. Similarly, The Crown’s fourth season came under fire for omitting or downplaying certain events like the assassination attempt on prime minister Margaret Thatcher by the IRA in 1984 or the various scandals faced by Princess Anne during the 1980s.
Further questions of historical accuracy plagued The Crown season 2 when the episode “Dear Mrs Kennedy” depicted Michael C. Hall's President John F Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s (Jodi Balfour) 1961 visit to Buckingham Palace. The episode implies Queen Elizabeth II and Jackie had quite a frosty relationship after the latter made some less than savory comments about the monarch at a party she attended in London. Later on in the story, Jackie visits Elizabeth again to apologize for speaking out of line and explains that she was under the influence of certain “substances” at the party which loosened her tongue. Furthermore in The Crown episode, Jackie tells the queen that she and JFK have a Dr. Jacobson who frequently administers them “cocktails” to perk them up or calm them down while the couple were traveling. There’s even a brief scene showing the couple receiving injections from said doctor, but is there any truth to Jackie and JFK’s drug use?
While it’s not known if the presidential couple were using any substances during their Buckingham Palace visit, several sources agree JFK was indeed on a cocktail of drugs as a result of several health problems, including Addison’s disease and chronic back pain. The president was also a client of Max Jacobson – a real-life physician to the rich and famous also known as “Dr. Feelgood” who treated his patients with “vitamin shots” that were a highly addictive mix of amphetamines, tranquilizers, steroids and other ingredients. In an interview with EW, JFK actor Michael C. Hall noted that The Crown’s depiction of the president’s drug use was accurate, according to his knowledge, stating “…he was very much a functional addict.”
Long before Michael C. Hall's JFK, many other actors have played the iconic president, and The Crown isn’t the first series to address his alleged drug use. The 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, for example, lists the many medications JFK (played by Greg Kinnear) took for his health issues and shows both the president and his first lady receiving injections from Jacobson. So, while The Crown has a reputation for playing loose with the truth for the sake of drama, it seems its portrayal of JFK’s drug addiction is at least somewhat actually historically accurate.