<p data-block-id="7dc51a47-6979-4f14-9e96-c0c8176112ce" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Belle Burden criticizes what she says is a highly inaccurate portrayal of her grandmother in <em>Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.</em></p>

<div>
  <div>
    <div>
      <div>
        <div>
          <p data-block-id="7dc51a47-6979-4f14-9e96-c0c8176112ce" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">In a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/opinion/feud-swans-paley.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent opinion essay for The New York Times</a> Babe Paley's granddaughter, Belle Burden, criticizes the portrayal of her grandmother in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/the-swans-truman-capote-feud-fx-hulu" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.</em></a></p>
          <p data-block-id="6638420e-ca2e-4225-a267-f3a71e37e845">The essay opens with a recount of a scene where Paley discovers her ex-husband's affair with Happy Rockefeller. She's then shown seeking consolation from Truman Capote in her Fifth Avenue apartment, where Capote hands her a Valium and recommends purchasing a Matisse to mend her broken heart. Burden bluntly states that none of this happened, and the scene is loosely based on Capote&rsquo;s short story &ldquo;La C&ocirc;te Basque, 1965" and on Laurence Leamer&rsquo;s 2021 nonfiction book, <em>Capote&rsquo;s Women</em>. Burden goes on to say that Capote's story "wounded" her grandmother by "taking the things she told him, changing them, and betraying her confidence and her privacy, which she guarded fiercely."&nbsp;</p>
          <p data-block-id="abc455f2-3089-49f6-a7e4-c8c09c2fdd10">"Now her life has been stolen and twisted again, posthumously, by the creators of 'Feud,'" writes Burden.&nbsp;</p>
          <p data-block-id="5f5f5ae7-b61f-455a-9fed-86990f0fb8cb">Burden states that the FX series portrayed her grandmother as a "one-dimensional" character who's defined by men. <span>She also notes that unlike the character played by Naomi Watts, Paley wasn&rsquo;t one to excessively drink, consume drugs, smoke, or "be placated by a piece of art or jewelry."</span><span>&nbsp;</span></p>
          <p data-block-id="76451f8a-a191-4f8c-9b66-1025cc929599">"I had planned to take the show lightly, to remind myself it was made to be fun, a campy romp," Burden writes. "Yet, as I watched each episode, as the inaccuracies and misrepresentations stacked up, I felt furious in defense of her."</p>
          <p data-block-id="c33de6fe-8722-48e5-b933-9c416668c2a2">According to <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a46491030/feud-capote-vs-the-swans-true-story-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Town &amp; Country's </em></a>interview with the show's writer, Jon Robin Baitz, the show never claims itself to be a historically accurate depiction of Truman Capote and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/history-of-new-york-high-society-socialites-astor-vanderbilt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">his swans</a>. Nevertheless, Burden wishes she and her family were consulted, as she says her grandmother's true portrait would have given the story "more shape, more tension, more depth."&nbsp;</p>
          <p data-block-id="6b04bf38-7b8a-42c6-9e13-a9edef7cab5f">"What I wish more than anything is that my grandmother had lived long enough and been bold enough to tell her own story, claiming it before anyone had the chance to steal it from her," Burden writes in the conclusion to the essay.&nbsp;</p>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Portrait of Babe Paley, 1956. Photo by CBS courtesy of Getty Images.

Naomi Watts and Tom Hollander in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans

Babe Paley's Granddaughter Denounce's 'Feud: Capote vs. The Swans'

Tags

Related Articles

Film & TV

Meet the Swans—Truman Capote's Keys to NYC High Society

Pop culture

A History of New York's High Society

Pop culture

7 Things You Should Know About Jackie Kennedy Onassis' Socialite Sister Lee Radziwill

Recommended posts for you

Fashion

Inside Silvia Tcherassi's New Bal Harbour Boutique

L'Officiel Art

That Viral Duct-Taped Banana Just Sold for $6.2 Million

Pop culture

Inside Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan’s Relationship: Timeline of Key Moments

Fashion

Steph Curry on His Style and NBA Tunnel Walk Philosophy

Fashion

Discover Fashion Inspired by Lanzarote, the Canary Island Gem

Film & TV

Madelyn Cline Navigates Fame

Politics & Culture

The Shocking Tale of a NoHo Nightmare Tenant Who Scammed Across the Globe

Fashion

The Top Resort 2025 Trends, From Fringe to Animal Prints