"Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is facing a situation that few tech executives ever encounter: watching her own life story dramatized on screen - without her involvement. Hulu's new biopic about the 35-year-old entrepreneur premiered on Sept. 8. Swiped stars Lily James as Wolfe Herd and traces her dramatic rise from Tinder cofounder to Bumble CEO and youngest woman to take a company public. But Wolfe Herd herself says the project has left her deeply uneasy."
"In an interview with CNBC's Julia Boorstin, Wolfe Herd admitted she only learned of the film once it was already "off to the races," with a script in hand and production underway. Her discomfort ran so deep that she asked her lawyer to intervene. "I even was asking my lawyer two years ago, 'What do I do? I don't want a movie made about me. Shut it down!'" Herd recalled. As she acknowledged, public figures often have little legal recourse to stop projects based on publicly known stories."
"The experience has been unsettling. Wolfe Herd said she finds the idea of a movie about her life "too weird," confessing she hasn't been able to watch the trailer all the way through. At the same time, she expressed some appreciation for the casting choice, calling it an "honor" to be portrayed by James. Still, the mix of emotions has left her conflicted."
Whitney Wolfe Herd learned a Hulu biopic titled Swiped was in production only after a script existed and filming had begun. She asked her lawyer to try to stop the project and said she previously told her lawyer, "What do I do? I don't want a movie made about me. Shut it down!" Public figures often lack legal recourse to block dramatizations of publicly known events. Wolfe Herd described the idea as "too weird," said she has been unable to watch the trailer, and called being portrayed by Lily James an "honor" while feeling terrified and conflicted.
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