About
Philipstown filmmaker profiles Trump accuser
Ivy Meeropol, who lives in Philipstown, directed her first documentary, Heir to an Execution, about her grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed in 1953 as Communist spies. In the 22 years since, Meeropol has made films about Red-baiting lawyer Roy Cohn, the Indian Point nuclear power plant and a surge of seals and great white sharks on Cape Cod.
Her latest film, Ask E. Jean, tells the story of E. Jean Carroll, a women's magazine advice columnist, writer and New York City personality who, in 2019, accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her 25 years earlier in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. She appeared that year on the cover of New York magazine in the dress she said she had been wearing. She sued Trump for defamation and battery, and in 2023 was awarded $83.3 million in damages.
The following year, after the former president denied the allegations and called Carroll a "wack job" whom he did not know, a jury awarded her another $5 million. Trump has appealed the $5 million judgment to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday (May 27), CNN reported that the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into whether Carroll committed perjury.
Meeropol grew up with the legacy of her grandparents, whose federal espionage trials were a defining moment of the Cold War, sparking anti-Communist hysteria and a global debate over civil liberties. The world was similarly divided by competing political visions when Meeropol spent time with Carroll and her lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, during their preparations for the 2023 lawsuit.
"I feel that I have been a witness to history — like I had a front row seat to incredible events," Meeropol says. Both her grandparents' and Carroll's stories drew her in "because of who I am, because I grew up with being fully aware and always curious about what was going on behind the news — stories that are not censored but just not fully told.
"I always want to humanize the people involved in these epic stories, because they end up being owned by the public or judged in a certain way, and it's limited," she says. "With my grandparents' case, it was that they're totally evil, or they were these pure, perfect martyrs who people revered. There was something else in there that was the truth."
She says that Carroll was vilified in the press, "with Trump leading the charge, to make her out to be a Democratic operative, a wack job, a kook, a weirdo who would 'go up in the dressing room with a man.' It was important to me that we get to hear her story and see what she went through. It still amazes me that a lot of people don't even know that he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation by two juries. They just don't know."
The problem was, Carroll wasn't interested in participating in a film. But a friend recognized Meeropol's name; Carroll liked her films. Even then, there was reluctance. "Numerous times along the way, she said, 'Oh, people don't need to hear … They won't want to hear this story.' Yeah, they do. They will!"
Carroll was crowned Miss Indiana University in 1963 and Miss Cheerleader USA in 1964. "She was the cheerleader, a beauty queen, a sorority sister and then a television talent," Meeropol says. "Her contradictions were so interesting to me. She was telling women, 'You don't need to be married. Go to college!' but at the same time accommodating men's horrible behavior and making excuses for it, and saying that women should be tougher."
Meeropol believes that young women, including her 17-year-old daughter, need to learn about E. Jean's life. "For young people, especially young women, to see this and have empathy and understanding for what she went through and then be inspired by where she is now is important."
The film made its New York City debut on May 22 at the IFC Center. "For the audience seeing this together in a theater, it is electric," Meeropol says. "Watching it together is important, because t...
Ivy Meeropol, who lives in Philipstown, directed her first documentary, Heir to an Execution, about her grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed in 1953 as Communist spies. In the 22 years since, Meeropol has made films about Red-baiting lawyer Roy Cohn, the Indian Point nuclear power plant and a surge of seals and great white sharks on Cape Cod.
Her latest film, Ask E. Jean, tells the story of E. Jean Carroll, a women's magazine advice columnist, writer and New York City personality who, in 2019, accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her 25 years earlier in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. She appeared that year on the cover of New York magazine in the dress she said she had been wearing. She sued Trump for defamation and battery, and in 2023 was awarded $83.3 million in damages.
The following year, after the former president denied the allegations and called Carroll a "wack job" whom he did not know, a jury awarded her another $5 million. Trump has appealed the $5 million judgment to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday (May 27), CNN reported that the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into whether Carroll committed perjury.
Meeropol grew up with the legacy of her grandparents, whose federal espionage trials were a defining moment of the Cold War, sparking anti-Communist hysteria and a global debate over civil liberties. The world was similarly divided by competing political visions when Meeropol spent time with Carroll and her lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, during their preparations for the 2023 lawsuit.
"I feel that I have been a witness to history — like I had a front row seat to incredible events," Meeropol says. Both her grandparents' and Carroll's stories drew her in "because of who I am, because I grew up with being fully aware and always curious about what was going on behind the news — stories that are not censored but just not fully told.
"I always want to humanize the people involved in these epic stories, because they end up being owned by the public or judged in a certain way, and it's limited," she says. "With my grandparents' case, it was that they're totally evil, or they were these pure, perfect martyrs who people revered. There was something else in there that was the truth."
She says that Carroll was vilified in the press, "with Trump leading the charge, to make her out to be a Democratic operative, a wack job, a kook, a weirdo who would 'go up in the dressing room with a man.' It was important to me that we get to hear her story and see what she went through. It still amazes me that a lot of people don't even know that he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation by two juries. They just don't know."
The problem was, Carroll wasn't interested in participating in a film. But a friend recognized Meeropol's name; Carroll liked her films. Even then, there was reluctance. "Numerous times along the way, she said, 'Oh, people don't need to hear … They won't want to hear this story.' Yeah, they do. They will!"
Carroll was crowned Miss Indiana University in 1963 and Miss Cheerleader USA in 1964. "She was the cheerleader, a beauty queen, a sorority sister and then a television talent," Meeropol says. "Her contradictions were so interesting to me. She was telling women, 'You don't need to be married. Go to college!' but at the same time accommodating men's horrible behavior and making excuses for it, and saying that women should be tougher."
Meeropol believes that young women, including her 17-year-old daughter, need to learn about E. Jean's life. "For young people, especially young women, to see this and have empathy and understanding for what she went through and then be inspired by where she is now is important."
The film made its New York City debut on May 22 at the IFC Center. "For the audience seeing this together in a theater, it is electric," Meeropol says. "Watching it together is important, because t...