E. Jean Carroll, the trailblazing journalist and advice columnist who, in June 2019, accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s, and then took him to court and landed judgments against him for sexual abuse and defamation, has cooperated with a documentary feature about her life, work and legal battles, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Ask E. Jean, directed and produced by Ivy Meeropol, will be headed to multiple fall film festivals as a sales title hoping to land a buyer and a spot in this season’s awards race.
Carroll, who was the first female editor at Esquire, Playboy and Outside magazines, and wrote the “Ask E. Jean” column that appeared in Elle from 1993-2019, tells THR, “I said, ‘No! No! No! Nooooooo!’ to all documentary filmmakers. Then I met the stupendous Ivy Meeropol. Only Ivy possesses the wit and grit to capture a dingbat who gives people advice for 30 years, never takes any of it herself, laughs at life’s quagmires and ends up the only person to beat the most powerful man on the planet — twice.”
Adds Meeropol, whose 2004 debut doc, the Oscar-shortlisted Heir to An Execution: A Granddaughter’s Story, explored the legacy of her grandparents Ethel Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg, and whose credits also include the 2019 doc Roy Cohn: Bully, Coward, Victim: “What drew me to E. Jean Carroll wasn’t just the headline-making accusation, it was her voice: bawdy, brilliant, hilarious and brutally honest. As I dug deeper, I discovered a woman who had lived many lives, from beauty queen, sorority sister, trailblazing journalist, TV host and advice columnist. She moved through the male-dominated media world of the ’80s and ’90s with flair and fearlessness, all while navigating the impact of experiences she hadn’t yet named. In telling her story, I want audiences to feel the full weight and joy of her journey, and to witness a woman reclaiming her voice, her history and, ultimately, her power.”
Ask E. Jean counts among its executive producers former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter, former HBO Documentaries chief Sheila Nevins, journalist Katrina Vanden Heuvel and the prolific documentary backer Geralyn White Dreyfous.