Ben Stiller called a 'son-of-a-b***h liar' by subject of his true crime series 'Escape at Dannemora'
There’s at least one person who is not a fan of Ben Stiller’s new show and it’s the real woman one character is based on.
Escape at Dannemora is a true crime series, heading to Sky Atlantic, that tells the story of how two inmates escaped prison in 2015 with the help of a woman who worked there.
Joyce “Tillie” Mitchell was that woman and in the Showtime series, its suggested that she had a sexual relationship with both convicts David Sweat and Richard Matt, which she vehemently denies.
“I never had sex with them,” Mitchell told the New York Post. “Ben Stiller is a son-of-a-b***h liar just like the rest of the world. He doesn’t care about the truth. All he cares about is making millions off me. He’s an idiot.”
Mitchell is serving a potential seven-year stretch at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for her role in the escape and claims the only time she engaged in a sexual act with the men was when she was allegedly forced to give Matt oral sex.
“At that point, I had to do it. I was stupid. They took advantage of my kindness,” she says. “I wish I could take it all back. If I had to do it over, I would have told somebody.”
Stiller has responded to the criticism from Mitchell by claiming they did 12 months of research to back up the narrative.
“Look, that’s the story she has always told. We did a year’s worth of research on the project. We talked to a lot of people who were in the tailor shop, and in the Inspector General’s Office,” Deadline reports.
“We got as much information as we could from the police reports, the interviews, and then we put together our story. We think it is a real representation of what went on. I’m sorry she feels that way. It can’t be fun to be in prison and I don’t have any ill will towards her in particular.'”
Patricia Arquette plays Mitchell in the series with Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano playing Matt and Dano, respectively.
Escape at Dannemora comes to Sky Atlantic on New Year’s Day at 9pm
READ MORE
Best Netflix Originals arriving in 2019
Worst movie plot holes of 2018
The stars we lost in 2018