Ryan Murphy said he was completely unprepared and shocked by the backlash he received over his “American Love Story” adaptation of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s relationship. “That was an odd, dark moment for me where I’ve never … I thought it was an odd choice to be mad about your relative that you really don’t remember,” Murphy explained to California Gov. Gavin Newsom during an appearance on the politician’s “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast Monday, referring Kennedy’s nephew Jack Schlossberg speaking out in criticism of the upcoming series back in June. “There’ve been over 88 things, movies and television shows about the Kennedys. Not one has ever been authorized by the family. I never even thought they wanted to do that. So, ours is based on a book that’s very sympathetic to both people,” Murphy continued, adding that the series isn’t a “takedown” but rather a “love story.” “It’s about youth taken too soon and idealism, things that we need more in politics,” Murphy went on. “I was not prepared for what was sort of the Kennedy firestorm.” On June 19, Schlossberg took to social media to air out his disappointment with Murphy’s latest project, which is centered on his uncle and aunt’s relationship and stars Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette and Paul Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. “Lately, my news feed has been filled with pictures of my uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., a great man,” Schlossberg said in the since deleted Instagram story, adding that his family “was never consulted” about the project. “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.” While Murphy, who has long taken heat for his TV depictions of real-life figures and events, said he was astonished by Schlossberg’s early review, he tries to find room for all commentary whether good or bad. “I try to have some humility about it,” Murphy said. “The days of civil discourse are over. It’s very hard, and you either get into the muck or you try and rise above it. I found that hard to do, but I did it. And I just have a better attitude about it, I think, than I did before I started. I’m thankful for the criticism, because if you’re smart, you listen to critical voices and you say, ‘Okay, great.’ And we fixed it. We rolled up our sleeves and we listened to people and corrected it.” View this post on Instagram Murphy’s “American Love Story” has set a February 2026 release date. You can watch the full interview in the video above.