Showtime has been slapped with a lawsuit over the network’s 2022 mini-series, George & Tammy. The show followed the tumultuous relationship of country music icons George Jones and Tammy Wynette, as played by Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, respectively. Now, the estate of George Richey, Wynette’s ex-husband, is suing over the songwriter’s depiction in the limited series.
Deadline reports that Richey’s estate is demanding that George & Tammy — which is partially based on the 2011 memoir by the couple’s only child, Georgette Jones — be removed from streaming because “the Series conveys a negative and disparaging depiction of Richey.” The estate, which is also demanding Showtime pay damages, cites an alleged violation of a Non-Disclosure Agreement signed by Georgette.
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Essentially, Richey’s estate does not agree with the show’s portrayal of the late songwriter. “In summary, the Series depicts Richey as a devious husband who abused Wynette and Richey’s prior wife, facilitated and encouraged Wynette’s addiction to prescription painkillers, and engaged in financial and managerial manipulation of Wynette,” the complaint states.
Georgette Jones published her book, The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George, back in 2011. In 2022, she was a credited consulting producer on the six-episode series based on her parents. Deadline states that her behind-the-scenes role with the show is a big part of the lawsuit, along with a 2015 NDA action that Richey’s estate successfully brought against Georgette and her half-sister Jackie Daly.
The Three of Us recounts Georgette’s childhood experience of growing up as country music royalty. The real-life couple was married for six years, from 1969 until 1975. Jones and Wynette’s relationship was notoriously turbulent, but inspired a number of popular songs, such as “We’re Gonna Hold On” and “Golden Ring.” Wynette was married five times, with Richey being her final husband. The pair were together until she died in 1998. Richey passed away in 2011. Actor Steve Zahn plays Richey in the series.
Back in 2013, Georgette sat down with Kentucky Country Music and spoke about her life, including what she thinks is the biggest misconception that fans have had about her family over the years. “I think automatically when people hear my parents’ names and they think about us, they think we’re very spoiled and we’re very over-privileged; that we are spoon-fed, so to speak, people, that we would be stuck up,” Georgette said. “I think there are a lot of stereotypes that are put on, especially of children. They expect their children to have been really spoiled. Mom did not raise us that way.”
