While the DeLorean Motor Company made one of the most beautiful cars of all time, with its DMC-12, the company itself was a bit more troubled. And for mentioning those troubles on air, ABC's new sitcom The Goldbergs has incurred the wrath of founder John DeLorean's daughter, Kathryn.
First, a little background. While the DMC-12 was immortalized in Back to the Future, by the time that movie was on screens, the company that made it was all but dead. Troubled by less-than-stellar business practices, even worse sales, and an ongoing conflict in Northern Ireland where the cars were made, the DeLorean Motor Company was fighting against the tide just to start.
The company wasn't doing so hot, to the point that Margaret Thatcher may have even wanted its famed founder dead. By 1982, its death was coming. In a desperate bid to find new investors, John DeLorean turned to a former-cocaine-smuggler-turned-FBI-informant. The FBI essentially set DeLorean up, and, fearing for his daughter's life after perceived threats, he went through with the negotiations with his new "investors."
DeLorean was quickly arrested by the FBI for dealing cocaine, but he was acquitted because of the government's entrapment.
The Goldbergs referenced this whole incident this week, when one character damages his DeLorean and needs it repaired. Thinking it's a quick fix, he calls the company, only for no one to pick up. A brief conversation quickly ensues:
"Aren't they out of business?"
"What are you talking about?"
"It was all over the news, the owner, John DeLorean, he was arrested for trying to sell two FBI agents cocaine powder."
Seems like pretty basic stuff in the world of sitcoms set in the 1980s that reference 1980s things. John DeLorean was arrested by the FBI for a cocaine deal. That much is fact. The show is set during the time between the arrest and the trial. So it doesn't seem like anything too crazy.
John's surviving daughter, Kathryn, does not see it that way, though. In fact, she is pissed. So stomping mad, in fact, that she has taken to The Internet to complain about it. Specifically, The Goldbergs Facebook page. Her original comments have since been deleted, but her additional complaints have not:
She goes on:
So yeah, like I said, she's pissed. Though it sounds like she may be going a bit overboard with this. Yeah, he was arrested, but yeah, he was acquitted. We know that now. The characters in a sitcom set in 1982 do not know that. To have them all turn and face the camera and say "BUT SURELY IN THE FUTURE HE WILL BE ACQUITTED!" would be kind of weird. Also, she can just tell her kids Grandpa was entrapped by an evil FBI or something and he did nothing wrong, so I guess you could do that. It's not like they weren't going to learn about it eventually.
Kathryn DeLorean should be proud that her father and his company are still seen as a relevant cultural reference. He built a great car, one that's still lusted over today. The saddest part about this whole thing, though, is probably something else.
John DeLorean was referenced on The Goldbergs. I had to watch the whole goddamn episode for that quote. It was terrible.
Photo credit: ABC
H/T to Elliott!
John DeLorean's Daughter Is Really, Really Pissed At The Goldbergs