Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is contesting a single word in a 2023 New York Times profile, claiming she said actors playing her portrayed a character they created rather than one she fashioned. The dispute surfaces in a new documentary, prompting the reporter to defend her reporting.
The debate centers on a profile published shortly before Elizabeth Holmes entered federal prison. In the piece, Holmes discussed Hollywood portrayals of her rise and fall, including Amanda Seyfried’s performance in Hulu’s 2022 miniseries The Dropout. The published article quoted Holmes as saying, They’re not playing me. They’re playing a character I created.
Holmes maintained that she instead said, They’re playing a character they created.
Reporter Defends Profile Quote
The disagreement over the single word forms a key narrative thread in the documentary You Can See Everything, co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. The A24 film captures Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, during the 34 days leading up to her May 30, 2023, surrender to a federal prison to begin her sentence for fraud, as reported by People.
New York Times reporter Amy Chozick addressed the origin of the quote in an interview published by her employer. Chozick explained that the remark was made during a walk with Holmes and their dog, Teddy, outside the couple’s Del Mar, California, rental home while Evans was at the gym. They had spent several days together discussing the public persona Holmes adopted during her time leading Theranos.
As we walked, I told Holmes that I heard Jennifer Lawrence had recently pulled out of portraying her in a movie. She looked over at me, and said: ‘They’re not playing me. They’re playing a character I created.’
Amy Chozick, New York Times reporter
Audio Notebooks Remain Missing
The documentary highlights a lack of physical evidence to definitively settle the dispute. Chozick acknowledged that she did not record the walk on audio and that she eventually discarded her reporter’s notebook after her editors confirmed the quote in 2023, assuming the matter was closed.
Evans claims in the film that he recorded his partner’s exchanges with the reporter, yet he was unable to produce tape containing the specific disputed line. He did provide the outlet with an 80-second recording of a separate conversation as proof. Patrick Healy, the assistant managing editor for Standards and Trust at The New York Times, noted that Chozick had written the quote in her notebook but no longer has it, and the paper maintains its stance that the reporting is accurate.
Persona Conversations Shape Dispute
Chozick pointed out that Holmes spoke openly throughout their multi-day interviews about constructing her signature corporate image—characterized by black turtlenecks, red lipstick, and a deeper voice—which Holmes asserted her former romantic and business partner, Sunny Balwani, pressured her to adopt. Because Holmes did not dispute the extensive surrounding context regarding her manufactured persona, Chozick argued the contested quote fits naturally into the conversations they shared.
Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors related to her collapsed blood-testing startup Theranos. Bureau of Prisons records show her current release date is scheduled for February 22, 2030.
