Biopics are a perennially popular genre for movies, TV series and miniseries, and 2022 saw a slew of new biopic miniseries such as Pam & Tommy, The Dropout and WeCrash along with both new and returning ongoing series based on true events such as Winning Time and The Crown.
Some biopics aren't welcomed warmly, especially not by their own subjects. Some dramatizations of controversial events have been met with criticism from those portrayed in the biopics, particularly if they felt their biopic disrespected them or represented them unfairly.
10 Pamela Anderson Hates Pam & Tommy
Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy is set in the 1990s, and follows A-list celebrity couple Pamela Anderson and her then-husband Tommy Lee, drummer of Mötley Crüe. When the newlyweds' sex tape gets leaked to the public, the couple rides a huge wave of controversy.
Pamela Anderson called the release of Pam & Tommy both "complex trauma" and a violation of her privacy (via Buzzfeed News). Given the fact the tape of Pamela had been released without her consent, and Tommy Lee physically abused the actress, the show can be considered rather tasteless towards women's experiences of trauma.
9 King Charles III Hates The Crown
Prince Charles has always been The Crown's most controversial character. The Netflix drama has gone into great detail in depicting the now King of England's complex relationship with his parents when his mother reigned as Queen of England from 1952-2022. His treatment of ex-wife, the late Princess Diana, has been a highly divisive subject since the 1980s, and the show's release has reignited its place within pop culture.
On a 2022 visit to the Scottish Parliament, the then-Prince told politicians "Hello, nice to meet you all. I'm nowhere near how they portray me on Netflix" (via Glamour). Given the controversy surrounding the last two seasons of The Crown along with this comment, this is a particularly damning comment from Charles.
8 Donatella Versace Hates The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Ryan Murphy's true-crime series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story details the 1997 murder of legendary Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace at the hands of serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The show follows his sister, Donatella, as she navigates her grief as Cunanan is on the run.
Unsurprisingly, the Versace family did not appreciate this depiction of such a traumatic time. The family put out a statement that said “The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement" in the series, and it "should only be considered as a work of fiction". Despite this, Donatella, now the artistic director of Versace, reached out to Penelope Cruz, who played her on the show, and wished her luck (via Entertainment Weekly).
7 Olivia de Havilland Hated Feud
Catherine Zeta-Jones played legendary Old Hollywood actress Olivia De Havilland on season one of the Ryan Murphy show Feud, which chronicled the animosity between actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Olivia was a friend of Bette Davis and also served as occasional narrator of the series.
Olivia de Havilland, at the time one of the few surviving figures portrayed on the show, filed a lawsuit against Ryan Murphy. The then-101 year old was unhappy with Murphy using her likeness, as well as depicting events and statements that she claimed never happened.
6 Rita Isbell Hates Netflix's Dahmer
Dahmer, a biographical series on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, quickly became one of the most popular original shows in Netflix history. The 2022 series merged true crime while attempting to bring attention to the racism and homophobia within policing and the criminal justice system that allowed Dahmer to murder men - often black, gay men - before his arrest in 1991.
Rita Isbell's brother, Eroll Lindsay, was killed by Dahmer in 1991. Her victim impact statement was a major moment on the show, but the real Rita was angered by Netflix and Ryan Murphy for recreating her trauma for entertainment purposes. Isbell said that she would've been less critical if Netflix donated to the victim's families, stating, "They're just making money off of this tragedy. That's just greed." (via Insider).
5 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Jerry West Hate Winning Time
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty depicts the legendary basketball team, The LA Lakers, during the late 1970s and early 80s. This period was known as "Showtime", where a new, sucessful style of basketball was being developed, making superstars of Lakers players.
Many of the series' real subjects - including coach Jerry West, as well as players Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, took issue with their portrayal. In particular, the portrayal of team members as cruel and antagonistic towards others made for a "distressing" watch, particularly for well-loved coach Jerry West, now aged 84 (via IndieWire).
4 John Lydon Hates Pistol
Acclaimed film director Danny Boyle took to television to chronicle iconic punk rock band The Sex Pistols in the limited series Pistol. The series did not shy away from the dark side of their history, notably the death of member Sid Vicious, as well as of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen - widely believed to have been killed by Vicious.
Sex Pistols lead singer John Lydon, then known as Johnny Rotten, called the show "disrespectful", as well as a “middle class fantasy” that “bears little resemblance to the truth”. Lydon also unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the show from using the band's music, but was overruled by the surviving band members (via NME).
3 Ronald Goldman's Parents Hate The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
The fourth Ryan Murphy show on the list, the showrunner's often-unconstrained approach to writing and directing has been branded as tasteless and disrespectful by those he has portrayed. When his anthology series American Crime Story took on the trial of OJ Simpson, the parents of murdered waiter Ronald Goldman, who died alongside Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, felt Murphy had handled their son's tragic death poorly.
Although they are briefly portrayed on the show, Ronald Goldman's parents, Fred Goldman and Sharon Rufo found the series offensive. "I am disappointed that this new show overlooks the victims," Fred Goldman stated. "Ron and Nicole were nothing more than dead bodies and as a father, that is deeply disturbing" (via Bustle).
2 Chris Pérez Hates Selena: The TV Series
Mexican-American singer Selena became a superstar of Tejano music, making the genre popular among English speakers and receiving mainstream stardom, before her murder at just 23 years old. Selena, as well as her husband and bandmate Chris Pérez, were portrayed in the Netflix show Selena: The TV Series.
The show was produced with consultation from Selena's family, who Pérez has long been estranged from. The show was widely criticized, and while Pérez stopped short of calling the show disrespectful, he did state that “I’m not trying to not be a part of anything,” and that “at the end of the day, we all have our perspective on certain things and how things happened", implying he views the series as inaccurate (via Today).
1 Gloria Steinem Hates Mrs. America
Mrs. America follows the political discourse among women in the 1970s during the unsuccessful passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a law that would've brought equal legal rights between men and women. The series contrasts the second wave feminist movement against the conservative women's antifeminist movement.
Gloria Steinem, a prominent figure in second-wave feminism, was played by Rose Byrne on the show. Steinem called Mrs. America "ridiculous" and that "the series makes it seem as if women are our own worst enemies, which keeps us from recognizing who our worst enemies are" (via The Guardian).