Showtime Sued By George Richey Estate Over ‘George and Tammy’ Portrayal

The estate of Tammy Wynette’s fifth and final husband, George Richey, has sued Showtime and one of Wynette’s daughters over the “villainous” portrayal of Richey in the 2022 miniseries George and Tammy.

Richey died in 2010, 12 years after Wynette’s 1998 death. A year after Richey died, Georgette Jones — the daughter of Wynette and fellow country legend George Jones — published a book titled The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George that made significant accusations against Richey, including that he allegedly destroyed a Wynette will that would have left money to her daughters from her previous marriages. 

Following the release of the book, Richey’s third wife and her daughter sued Georgette Jones, which ultimately resulted in a non-disparagement agreement. The new lawsuit claims that that deal was violated when Georgette Jones became a consulting producer on the miniseries and allegedly brought some of her Richey accusations to the Emmy-nominated George and Tammy, Variety reports.

The lawsuit claims that the miniseries portrayed Richey (played by Steve Zahn) 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.” Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon starred as Wynette and Jones in George and Tammy; neither were named in the lawsuit.

Using elements of Georgette Jones’ book, the miniseries also alleges that Richey fabricated break-ins at Wynette’s home to coerce her to marry him, then injected her with Demerol on their wedding day, the lawsuit claims. 

Showtime said of the lawsuit in a statement to Variety, “We see no plausible basis for any claim against Showtime.”