Birkhead Objects to Anna Nicole Smith Movie, Files Complaint
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- Larry Birkhead told Entertainment Tonight he and daughter Dannielynn 'absolutely object' to 'Trust Me, I'm a Doctor,' which premieres Oct. 16 and is based on Dr. Sandeep Kapoor's 2017 book about his controversial friendship with Smith while serving as her prescribing physician.
- Birkhead said he filed a complaint with the California Medical Board over Kapoor's involvement in the film, adding he was promised Kapoor's press days were over; Deadline has reached out to Kapoor and the board for comment.
- The film, written and directed by Thane Economou, stars Kal Penn as Dr. Kapoor, Linda Hamilton as attorney Ellyn Garofalo, and Abbie Cornish as Anna Nicole Smith, set against the early-2000s tabloid era.
- Birkhead criticized Cornish's casting, saying he has 'yet to see someone who actually embodies the spirit and the looks and the persona of Anna Nicole,' referencing prior Lifetime and Law & Order portrayals.
- Dr. Kapoor was cleared of all six counts against him in 2010 after an autopsy determined the methadone he had prescribed Smith was not a contributing factor in her Feb. 8, 2007 death from an accidental drug overdose at age 39.
Why it matters: The complaint puts a state medical regulator between Kapoor and the film's Oct. 16 premiere, meaning a doctor cleared in 2010 now faces a fresh professional review over his entertainment-industry role nearly two decades after his famous patient's death. For Birkhead, the fight is framed around protecting daughter Dannielynn's privacy from a man her late mother once trusted as a physician.
