Atlanta newspaper demands disclaimer for reporter portrayed in Clint Eastwood film

An Atlanta newspaper is demanding that filmmakers behind the upcoming Clint Eastwood film “Richard Jewell” add a disclaimer to the movie after it portrayed a female journalist from the news outlet having sex with a source for a story.

Variety reported Monday that an attorney representing the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sent a letter to Eastwood, the film’s executive producer, as well as Warner Bros. and screenwriter Billy Ray demanding that filmmakers make clear that no evidence exists to suggest that a character in the film based off of Kathy Scruggs, a former reporter for the newspaper, traded sex for news tips during her time as a reporter.

“We hereby demand that you immediately issue a statement publicly acknowledging that some events were imagined for dramatic purposes and artistic license and dramatization were used in the film’s portrayal of events and characters,” the newspaper’s attorney wrote.

“We further demand that you add a prominent disclaimer to the film to that effect,” he continued.

The letter goes on to accuse the filmmakers of advancing negative stereotypes about female journalists. An editor for the Journal-Constitution, Kevin Riley, blasted the film’s portrayal of Scruggs in a statement to Variety.

“The film literally makes things up and adds to misunderstandings about how serious news organizations work,” he said. “It’s ironic that the film commits the same sins that it accuses the media of committing.”