did kathy scruggs apologize to richard jewell

Longtime friend Lisa Griffin told the Journal-Constitution that she spoke with Scruggs on the phone shortly before she died. 'Richard Jewell' film under fire for depiction of journalist Kathy Scruggs Kathy Scruggs Cause of Death, Family, Downfall, Richard Jewell We further demand that you add a prominent disclaimer to the film to that effect.". Fair enough, and certainly Jewell deserves that, but Jewell already received the benefit of being exonerated during his lifetime. It crushed her like a june bug on the sidewalk.. Theres even another agent in the story named Tubbs. By the time the case ended, Richard & Ms. Scruggs had both passed away. In Eastwood's highly-anticipated film, "Richard Jewell," reporter Kathy Scruggs is depicted as trading sex for stories and information. In 2011, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled for the newspaper, which had refused to negotiate a settlement of Jewell's lawsuit. She nonetheless gets the information, while fondling for his crotch. Who is Ashley Willcott? We dont do that to men, we dont do that to James Bond we dont say James Bond isnt a real spy because he gets his information sometimes by sleeping with women as sources. Jewell and other men were able to clear the perimeter enough to minimize the impact. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Goads her bosses into rushing the story into print Who was Atlanta reporter Kathy Scruggs? - ajc By discovering the device and swiftly reporting it, Jewell helped ensurethe area was able to be cleared enough to avoid mass casualties, although two people still died and 111 were injured when it exploded. The Vanity Fair article only briefly discusses Scruggs, and calls her an FBI "groupie. It also mentions her being kind of a tough journalist, but never demonizes her in the way the film does. We understand why she was trying to make it in her world, and I think shes a pretty three-dimensional character.. After 88 days of public scrutiny, he was cleared as a suspect. They editorialized wildly and printed assumptions as facts. "She was so, so alive." Scruggs was born Sept. 26, 1958 into a prominent Athens family. Support stories like this by supporting local journalism. Carla Gugino portrayed Kathys character. Wow, "Richard Jewell" depicts Kathy Scruggs a real Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter sleeping with an FBI agent to land a scoop about the '96 Olympic bombing. But several friends and colleagues have said over the years that she never really recovered from what happened with Jewell. Kathy Scruggs, the AJC, and other media had no qualms about. It feels unfair that Kathy has been minimized in this way. [] Its a misunderstanding of feminism to assume that all women have to be sexless.. Spent most of my life in various parts of Illinois, including attending college in Evanston. Reporters Enraged Over Media Portrayal in 'Richard Jewell' According to the Columbia article, they also tried to be careful with the wording. In the film, Kathy is portrayed as a ruthless reporter who is willing to use any means necessary to get a story, even sleeping with an FBI agent, and not showing empathy for the victims after the bombing. In an interview with Collider, Gugino acknowledged that Scruggs was known for partying hard, but she was also known as a great reporter and what intrigued Gugino about the part was the notion that everything can look a certain way, depending on the point of view youre looking at it from, and that we all have a sense of what our truth is and it might be very different than somebody elses., Gugino went on to say that the scoop about Jewell basically fell in her lap and Scruggs was pressured to do it quickly, otherwise somebody else was gonna run the story, which is the nature of that profession, and she ended up in very deep.. Her soul was gone. The newspaper, in a letter to the filmmakers, has criticized the depiction of the reporter, indicating that there is no evidence to suggest this actually happened. Richard Jewell ended with a quiet showdown between Jewell (played by Paul Walter Hauser) and Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell), and the FBI agents in charge of his case, led by Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm). For months after the bomb was detonated, he was suspected of planting it, resulting in negative publicity that came to symbolize the excesses of law enforcement and the news media.. They compared him to noted mass murderer Wayne Williams. True, Jewells lawyers surely got a chunk of that only one of whom, Watson Bryant, appears in the film, played memorably by Sam Rockwell. Your email address will not be published. Kathy Scruggs' Death: How Did Kathy Scruggs Die? (This post will contain both spoilers for the movie Richard Jewell and historical facts. One of the things I love about directing is the ability to control the voice and message of the film. This movie is about a hero whose life was completely destroyed by myths created by the FBI and the media, specifically the AJC, Ray told Deadline. And this was after he had saved hundreds of lives. Want to get a room or just go to my car? Scruggs asks after he reveals Jewells name. On the park grounds, he discovered a backpack containing three pipe bombs and assisted in evacuating the area before the bomb exploded, saving many people from injury or death. Warner Brothers has fired back at the AJC, saying that having been a part of the rush to judgment of Richard Jewell, [the AJC] is now trying to malign our filmmakers and cast., Olivia Wilde, who plays Scruggs in the film, defended the films depiction of her character on feminist grounds, saying the films critics were holding it to a sexist double standard., She was incredibly successful as a cop reporter. She became popular in the 1990s for breaking the story that the FBI was investigating security guard Richard Jewell as a possible suspect in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics bombing. In a thread on Twitter on Thursday night, Lin Wood, the prominent defamation lawyer who represented Jewell in lawsuits against The Journal-Constitution and other media organizations, joined the movie's critics. In the 1990s, Scruggs was known for her solid reporting, her tight relationship with local law enforcement, and also her hard-partying ways, something that was exacerbated after she set off the media firestorm directed at Jewell. While the movie portrays an FBI case agent leaking Jewell's name to Atlanta Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs, who has since died, there is no basis for the claim. Alex Johnson is a reporter and editor for NBC News based in Los Angeles. Wilde seems to infer that Richard Jewells critics are basing their criticisms of the Kathy Scruggs character solely on the idea that the movie infers that Scruggs had sex with a source for a story (true, the film doesnt show the actual penis going in, but when two people say theyre going to have sex and leave for a hotel room its not much of a leap to assume that they did). The Idaho Murders, Part 1: How 4 College Kids Lived and Loved. The article which was headlined FBI Suspects Hero Guard May Have Planted Bomb made Jewell the talk of debate even after being cleared of the crime. Scruggs, who died in 2001, was working for the Atlanta . She had this big personality the kind you never forget.". "It's heartbreaking to think that the only thing some people will ever hear about Kathy is how she is portrayed in that movie.". https://t.co/Wii3yiCK7y. A few days before Richard Jewells release, King was unsure whether he would see the film. The (Journal-Constitution's) claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend . Even the AJCs house style, voice-of-God narration that stressed declarative sentences over attribution, news in bite-sized chunklets in an attempt to mimic USA Today, deserves some blame making Jewell fit the profile of the lone bomber sound like objective fact rather than the opinion of the FBI, who created said profile. Scruggs' former reporting partner, Ron Martz, played by David Shae in the movie, said no one from the film contacted him. He was given life in prison without parole. The reporters attire, according to Alexander and Salwen, did little to dispel a growing sleeps with her sources reputation. But in a statement to Vanity Fairs Joe Pompeo this week, the authors clarified that their five years of researchwhich encompassed dozens of interviews about Scruggs and an examination of thousands of pages of her deposition testimony and news articlesnever turned up evidence that Scruggs ever traded sex for a story. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. And just in time for awards season, can you imagine that. The polygraph seems to be the final nail in the FBIs attempt at finding evidence against Jewell. That is entirely false and malicious, and it is extremely defamatory and damaging., The letter demands a statement publicly acknowledging that some events were imagined for dramatic purposes and artistic license and dramatization were used in the films portrayal of events and characters. 'Richard Jewell' Screenwriter Accuses Atlanta Newspaper Of Deflecting If you wanted to draw a Hollywood stereotype of a hard-charging female cops reporter, Kathy would fit that bill pretty well, King said during a phone call with Vanity Fair on Wednesday. ), Fact Vs. Fiction In Richard Jewell: A Look At Why Kathy Scruggs Deserved Better, The Best Coachella 2023 Performances Were Reflections Of Pure Joy, My (Non-Anonymous) Ballot For The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, HBOs White House Plumbers Delivers An Absurd Historical Snapshot And A Knockout Performance From Justin Theroux, The Rundown: Ted Lasso Has Created A Delightful Little I Think You Should Leave Conundrum, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Did kathy scruggs apologize to richard jewell Those who were either directly involved in the incident or were dragged into the subsequent FBI investigation are featured in the show. Whereas Scruggs important job, local police reporter, is increasingly an anachronism, we still seem to have plenty of Brokaws, Kindreds, and Graces to go around (admittedly fewer Hollis Gillespies). Many of her friends and family members claimthe stress from the legal fallout around the Jewell case contributed to her failing health: Jewell sued the AJC, among other outlets, after Scruggs' story pinpointing him as an FBI suspect; all other outlets settled except the AJC. On Thursday, Ray defended the filmexplaining that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution seems to be pulling focus to one single minute in a movie thats 129 minutes long. Wilde also tweeted to respond to the controversy, saying,I do not believe Kathy traded sex for tips and it was never my intention to suggest she had. Ray and Brenner, among others, claim that the outsize focus on the Scruggs scene is a deliberate effort to deflect from the real story: the Atlanta Journal-Constitutions flawed, and destructive, reporting on Jewell. Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 1, Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. ', there is no evidence that Scruggs slept with anyone. Richard Jewell, an American security guard and a police officer got entangled in a web of investigation and media trial after he became a suspect in the investigation. But its just jumping over that last wall to make it look like she traded sexual favors for information. Eric Rudolph eventually admitted to the bombing and other attacks and pleaded guilty. "Kathy was just luminous," Parke said. I would encourage people to see the movie and read the story behind it and then come to that conclusion, Hamm told me, referring to The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, The FBI, The Media, And Richard Jewell, The Man Caught In The Middle, by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen, another source for the movie. Which is still the case and not despite the movie, but because of it. For our 29th annual Hollywood cover, a dozen captivating young stars gather for the after-party of our dreams. In hindsight, its easy to cast Scruggs as the villain, but Gugino said its not that simple. He noticed a suspicious green backpack, and then alerted cops and authorized authorities. People have begun to do just that, and the criticism has, if anything, only intensified. ", He went on to say that Scruggs was "one of the better reporters I ever worked with.". Wilde concluded her string of Twitter posts on Thursday by saying that Scruggs "unfortunately became a piece of the massive puzzle that was responsible for the brutal and unjust vilification of. Nor does Nancy Grace, a then-assistant DA who said on television that Richard Jewell did not deserve the presumption of innocence. She responded earlier Thursday in a long Twitter thread, saying she wanted to share her perspective on the role and clarify previous comments in which she said she thought the controversy was a "basic misunderstanding of feminism as pious sexlessness.". Her father was a Gridiron Secret Society member at the University of Georgia and a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II. How that actually played out is an interesting, quasi-Coen Brothers-esque story in itself. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Who is Julia Morales? 'Manhunt Deadly Games,' an American true-crime drama, will premiere its second season in the year 2020. Richard Jewell's lawyer agrees the movie smeared Atlanta newspaper reporter What happened to Kathy Scruggs? Learn about the reporter who broke the I never heard any of them, even when they were drinking, say anything negative about her personally or professionally. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, says it is a story of what happens when what is reported as fact obscures the truth.. However, that dismissal came 10 years after Scruggs died. The movie actually does Scruggs worse than that. Scruggs died in 2001 at age 42. She hated being lied to or used. He appeared on the 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list all five years, and there was a million-dollar reward offered for any info. However, there are two major things that the movie portrays in questionable ways. "That story might not win anyone an Oscar, but it is the truth under the evidence," Wood wrote. Kathy Scruggs Cause of Death, Family, Downfall, Richard Jewell, Journalist, Julia Morales (Astros) Husband, Daughter, Age, Height, Salary, Net worth, Nikki Battiste (CBS News) Net Worth, Age, Husband, Son, Wedding and ABC, Who is Will Cain Married To? If there was a double standard, it was one Ron Martz complained of at the time: that Kathy Scruggs seemed to be getting all the criticism over a story on which Martz was a co-author. The AJC and other media were suedafter Jewell was cleared. But ever since the film premiered at the AFI Fest in November, the Atlanta Journal-Constitutions editor-in-chief, Kevin Riley, has insisted that the filmwritten by Oscar-winning screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips)gets integral facts wrong. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! When youre a cop reporter, you have to be able to throw it and show itget in there with them and not take any shit off them. Tom Brokaw, who said the FBI probably had enough to convict Jewell but were just trying to collect all the evidence, does get a soundbite in the film. In the film, Atlanta-Journal Constitution reporter Scruggs, played by Olivia Wilde, is depicted as offering sex in exchangefor information about the case from an FBI agent, NBC News reports. She is right now the face of justice. So I had to call the district attorney, and we went through this whole back and forth and Nancy didnt end up speaking about the Olympics again.. Should they have known what the unprecedented 24-hour news cycle would do with Jewell? As an actor, its more complicated, and I want to share my perspective on my role in the film Richard Jewell. She was at least doing the job as it was understood; he was the unscrupulous one. Richard Jewell is a case study on how the media can make or break a person, and how ordinary people can be thrust into extraordinary situations. Reporter Kathy Scruggs broke the story that the FBI was looking at Richard Jewell as the Atlanta Olympics bomber. Portrayal of female journalist in 'Richard Jewell' is 'worst kind of "Contrary to a swath of recent headlines, I do not believe that Kathy 'traded sex for tips,'" Wilde tweeted. Scruggs was the Atlanta Constitution-Journal reporter who first wrote about Jewell being on the FBIs suspect list. "Nothing in my research suggested she did so, and it was never my intention to suggest she had. Kathy Scruggs, who died in 2001, was working at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution when she broke a story that the FBI was investigating security guard Richard Jewell for the bombing in Centennial . Such a portrayal makes it appear that the AJC sexually exploited its staff and/or that it facilitated or condoned offering sexual gratification to sources in exchange for stories. Most people within the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thought that everybody would get the story at the same time, that it would essentially be a tie, Kent Alexander, co-author of The Suspect told me. After the interrogation, sometime later, Shaw and other FBI members hand Jewell and Bryant a letter that states they will no longer be investigating him as a suspect. The case wasnt dismissed until 2011, on the grounds that they were substantially true at the time they were published. None of the lawyers who pursued Scruggs get mentioned in the film. At issue is the film's portrayal of the late reporter Kathy Scruggs. That would be an appalling and misogynistic dismissal of the difficult work she did. She was never at peace as she was facing possible jail time together with the media blaming her for destroying Jewells life and reputation. I feel like we were struggling throughout to give more and more time to her story and to really help you understand her world and the toll that these events took on her life., Without enough time to spend with her story, she becomes a culprit. Shewould wear that frustration on her sleeve. Later, movie-Scruggs is moved to tears at a Jewell press conference, apparently humbled by the Jewells plight and ashamed at her own actions the movies way of showing that Scruggs had learned a lesson about being so aggressive (uppity?). Support stories like this by supporting local journalism. 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I have been a life long lover of pop culture, especially television, turned that passion into writing about all things entertainment related. Please consider becominga subscriber. Many journalists have strongly criticized the portrayal as perpetuating a pernicious and false stereotype that some female journalists trade sex for information, which U.S. news organizations prohibit as unethical. Scruggs, who died in 2001, was working at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution when she broke a story that the FBI was investigating security guard Richard Jewell for the bombing in Centennial. That FBI agent is identified by name in The Suspect, but, tellingly, not in the movie* (book spoilers in the footnote). Mike King, a former Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor who worked with Scruggs for about eight years, said that, save for that glaring implication, Richard Jewell largely seems to get Scruggs right. Kathy Scruggs Death: How Manhunt: Deadly Games Reporter Died - Heavy.com Her former colleagues said she didn't cross ethical boundaries to land a story,as is suggested in "Richard Jewell," the movie thatincludes a portrayal of her as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Presumed Guilty - Atlanta Magazine She was never at peace as the story continued to get bigger and bigger with everyone crucifying Richard Jewel. On July 30, 1996, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the FBI investigation of Jewell as the potential bomber. The reporters outside his home would even yell and harass Bobi and Richard to try to get a reaction to catch on film. The Suspect does*, painting him more as a rogue FBI agent whose leak infuriated his bosses. MANHUNT: DEADLY GAMES Official Trailer (HD) Cameron Britton, MANHUNT: DEADLY GAMES 2020 TRUE CRIME DRAMA CAMERON BRITTON MANHUNT: DEADLY GAMES will chronicle one of the largest and most complex manhunts on U.S. soil the search for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Park Bomber and the media firestorm that consumed the life of Richard Jewell in its wake. In fact, nine law. "Richard Jewell" screenwriter Billy Ray again claims Kathy Scruggs The media as a whole certainly wasnt innocent in the case. We did not.. Related: Lauren Snchez (Jeff Bezos Girlfriend), Age, Children, Husband, Family, Net Worth, Journalist. She was the real deal when it came to being a dedicated reporter, her family friend Edward Tolley told the AJC. All rights reserved. Walter decided the story should use the word "focus," Scruggs would recall. "He was a suspect at the time she reported that he was. All of which again escapes mention in the film which its possible to come away from believing that Jewell was still basically the same sexless weirdo mamas boy that the media made him out to be in the nineties. Yeah Kathy Scruggs and AJC said they only reported the truth - that Jewell was being investigated. Shes flawed, and really complex, and really interesting. After the bombing fiasco, Jewell went on to get married, realized his dream of becoming a cop (The Suspect details a later incident in which Jewell performed CPR on a dying infant, saving its life), and bought a 26-acre farm in rural Georgia. He is serving multiple life sentences for his role in several bombings. Scoop in hand, she convinces her bosses to run with the story over their concerns. Jewell was the security guard who spotted an unattended bag containing a pipe bomb in Centennial Park in the early hours of July 27, 1996. What happened to Kathy Scruggs? Did kathy scruggs apologize to richard Scruggs died of "acute morphine toxicity," Kiss said, and he believes the stress of the Jewell story and the related litigation contributed to her death. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. You can access his archive of reviews here. She'd launch into a story maybesomething about the person she had just run into,the interview she had just finished. Dreams of implants Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The movietells the story of Richard Jewell, a security guard who should have been hailed a hero after he found a pipe bombpacked with nails and screwsin Centennial Olympic Park. Or at least, one FBI agent in particular fed her the story. Martz, who made the call to confirm the story with the FBI, said he wanted to make sure that, one, the story wasnt going to screw up the investigation. As the film depicts it, Scruggs (played by Olivia Wilde) finds out that Jewell is the FBIs primary suspect (which he probably never shouldve been) by sexually accosting an FBI agent played by Jon Hamm at a bar. "We never made such a false & damning claim. Her choice of boyfriends was not great. While King was clear that Scruggs had never slept with sources, he told Vanity Fair that the reporter had in-house romances [at the paper] that caused us to have to say, You stay over here, you stay over there. Kathy Scruggs was an American reporter working for Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). As for Olivia Wildes notion of why people arent complaining about Jon Hamms character, thats an easy one: Tom Shaw isnt a real person. That piece didnt name the individual leaker. One wonders if it was because none of them were attractive, foul-mouthed women who wore fishnets and miniskirts. Age, Height, Salary, Net Worth, PodcastContinue, Who is Andrew Nichols? Someone saw him running from the scene and took down his license. In the end, Kathy Scruggs greatest crime was being interesting. Clint Eastwoods new movie, Richard Jewell, adapted by screenwriter Billy Ray partly from a 1997 Marie Brenner Vanity Fair article, tells the story of the FBI and the medias rush to judgment in the case of Richard Jewell, a security guard who discovered a bomb in Atlantas Centennial Olympic Park and then became the prime suspect, beaten up in the press even though he actually helped save peoples lives. Yes, Jewell deserves to be better remembered as a hero, but the movie only does a middling job of helping that case, presenting Jewell largely as a sad sack defined by his victimhood rather than a lovable good ol boy who showed up to his interrogation in a stars-and-stripes fanny pack, loved karaoke, and sang Free Bird in a cover band. Shewas young and driven, according to those who knew her. Marie Brenner, who wrote the Vanity Fair feature on which the film is based, hopes that Richard Jewell might impact audiences the way the story affected her in 1996. But as Beyer would soon realize, Finchs past wasnt what she claimedand Beyers own difficult history was up for the taking. Nikki Battiste is an American journalist working as a correspondent anchor as well as a reporter for CBS News in New York City. Scruggs died in 2001, so she cant dispute the films portrayal of her, but she might not have been as ruthless as shown in Richard Jewell. How this story and source was gotten was never my interest., When Brenner read the rumor about Scruggs trading sex for stories in Alexander and Salwens book, she felt it was deeply problematic: Inevitably men get it wrong when they try to write about a womans sexuality., Both Brenner and Billy Ray, though, say the focus on Scruggs is a diversionary tactic. The trial by the media seemed vicious and not shown nearly as intense in the film. Scruggs isnt alive to defend herself, but Richard Jewells depiction of her had Scruggs colleagues at the AJC calling foul before theyd even seen the film. In 2011, the suitsnaming the AJC weredismissed as the Georgia Court of Appeals concluded the articles in their entirety were substantially true at the time they were published. She worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a reporter. The newspaper, in turn, has criticized the film's depiction of Kathy Scruggs who broke the story with Ron Martz that the FBI was eyeing Jewell as its prime suspect as a promiscuous crime. Kathy Scruggs, who was a very accomplished and very aggressive police reporter, had a motto: Im not in the business of being last. And she decided that she was going to be her usual aggressive self and made call after call to law enforcement sources.
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