Advisory: This interview references suicide. If you or a loved one are in crisis, help is available 24/7 by calling the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
For LGBTQIA+ youth, resources are available at The Trevor Project.
Sterlin Harjo’s latest FX series “The Lowdown” is a smash hit taking place in Tulsa. The show follows protagonist Lee Raybon, who is loosely based on late journalist Lee Roy Chapman. KWGS’ Ben Abrams sat down with Whitney Chapman, Lee Roy’s sister, to discuss the accuracy of the show and how it has affected her family.
TRANSCRIPT:
BEN ABRAMS: Whitney Chapman says her family was a relatively normal Tulsa household.
WHITNEY CHAPMAN: “We were very stereotypical. Tons of religion. St. Pius and then, you know, we went to a Methodist church, and it was Sunday school, church and youth group... and we were all there. [Laughs]”
BA: Whitney was the middle child and says that, while growing up was relatively normal, family traumas made life difficult in later years.
WC: “Later on, we had a lot of, kind of, complications. My family has a lot of different mental illnesses and, you know, there was just a lot of turbulation as we moved into high school. And then my mother passed away right after that and she was actually murdered. And that obviously changed the direction of all of our lives."
BA: That trauma would burden Whitney’s younger brother, Lee Roy Chapman, who died by suicide in 2015.
Lee is now a well-known figure in Tulsa.
In the early 2010s, he began writing for This Land Press about Tulsa’s history. One of his most famous works focused on city founder Tate Brady’s affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan. That work resulted in Tulsa City Council renaming both Brady Street and the Brady Arts District, stripping the now controversial figure of his legacy on the city’s streets.
WC: “I just really loved watching him come to terms with his brilliant mind, in a way. I don’t know if he aways did. I know he had a lot of other, you know, issues in his life. He did suffer from a mental illness as well and there were times of self-medication. But, at the end of the day, I think he did his work really well.”
BA: Sterlin Harjo, a filmmaker who worked with Lee, has written a popular show with a central character also named Lee, although the last name has been changed.
WC: “You know, you hear it’s, like, loosely based or inspired by, and that kind of, is like the confusion around that I think has been one of the hardest things for us to pull apart.”
BA: That’s a point that’s important to Whitney. While the character, played by Ethan Hawke, is based on her brother, the central story of the show is fictional, and minor spoilers ahead for some Lowdown plot points.
WC: “You know, Lee never, to my knowledge, was thrown into the, [laughs] you know, the back of a car. I don’t recall him ever, you know, going to, like, the, which I love, the lake with the beluga caviar.”
BA: Whitney says she didn’t find out about the show directly from the creative team, instead hearing about it through friends.
She was able to have a phone call with members of "The Lowdown" team and was invited on set on a few occasions.
It was her visits to the show’s set that she found especially difficult.
For example, Whitney says her brother’s van and bumper sticker are depicted accurately in the show.
WC: “Shortly after, Ethan comes out in his costume, as the character, and that’s kind of the first time I was like, ‘Oh, wow, you know, this is hard to see someone, kind of, in costume of your brother.’”
BA: Whitney says she’s tried to facilitate an open dialogue with the show’s creators about the depiction of Lee, but to no avail.
While she’s watched a few episodes of "The Lowdown," she says other family members have not seen any of the series.
WC: “The re-triggering is super hard, and even if it’s a fictional story, that character still carries the weight of a real person’s life.”
BA: "The Lowdown" has been praised by critics as another masterpiece by Harjo. Fresh Air’s John Powers said it QUOTE “isn't merely a good show. It's also a really good hang.”
To be clear, Whitney shares a lot of that praise.
WC: “I want the show to be successful. You know, I really do. It’s a good show.”
BA: But she says the way the show tackles the character of Lee should have been handled with more tact.
WC: “It’s so, um, important that, when a show creates a character clearly inspired by a real person, and especially one that died by suicide, I think it’s critical to speak to the family before any of it happens.”
BA: Despite her concerns, she says the show has brought more attention to her brother’s work.
Whitney runs the Center for Public Secrets, a nonprofit with the mission of continuing Lee’s work of holding public figures accountable.
In Tulsa, I’m Ben Abrams.
Representatives from FX Networks did not respond to KWGS' request for comment on this story.
