hollywoodreporter

To quote the investigation: "she’s the locally raised daughter of Holocaust survivors, a Jew who has found refuge in shiksa drag."

I've interviewed thousands of people in my career, from all walks of life. Angelyne was notably combative and controlling. Emmy Rossum's portrayal is generous and big-hearted.

As I told LA Weekly when it posed the same question shortly after my investigation was published, Angelyne is a famous person who sought her notoriety. We journalists don't require permission to uncover truths about public figures.

Like many, I'd long been intrigued by the mystery of Angelyne, and wanted to better understand her. In Los Angeles, she'd long been perceived as a joke, but I believed she was worthy of serious consideration.

Beyond this, my beat at The Hollywood Reporter encompasses Los Angeles phenomena and landmarks. This has led me to write about coastal erosion at Malibu beaches, terrazzo degradation at the Walk of Fame and public access to the Hollywood Sign. Looking into Angelyne fit into my bailiwick.

She wasn’t pleased that my examination, which I undertook — and think was received by most — in a spirit of compassion, undermined her preferred narrative. But my task as a journalist isn’t to please those I’m writing about. It’s to reveal their truths.