Twentieth Century Fox’s movie based on Jeffrey Toobin’s Patricia Hearst biography American Heiress has been cancelled, Associated Press reported. American Heiress revolves around Hearst’s kidnapping in 1974 by the American radical leftist group Symbionese Liberation Army. Patricia Hearst, also known as Patty Hearst, is the granddaughter of eminent publisher William Randolph Hearst.
By the time Hearst was found 19 months later, she had participated in crimes organised by the group after being allegedly raped and brainwashed by its members.
Hearst, who is 63 and lives in New York City, released a statement on Thursday condemning the project and Toobin’s book. It is unknown if Fox’s decision to cancel the film was motivated by Hearst’s statement. “American Heiress, which cites one of my kidnappers as its main source, romanticizes my rape and torture and calls my abduction a ‘rollicking adventure,’” Hearst said in the statement, which was issued through her daughter, Lydia Hearst. “This project is attempting to rewrite history and directly flies in the face of the present #MeToo movement where so much progress is being made in regard to listening, and providing a voice, to those who have suffered abuse,” the statement added.
The adaptation was to have been directed by James Mangold, while Elle Fanning was reportedly in talks to play Hearst.