Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall's Divorce Settlement Bars Hall From Giving Story Ideas for Succession

"He’s not Rupert Murdoch," Succession star Brian Cox told T&C of Logan Roy, the media billionaire he portrayed for four seasons on HBO's hit drama. And while it's true that the Roy patriarch may not be a carbon copy of the real life media mogul, there have always been close parallels between the Murdochs and the Roys—ones it seems that even Murdoch is aware of, considering that the show reportedly featured in his divorce settlement with his most recent ex-wife, model Jerry Hall.

According to Vanity Fair, Succession was actually name checked in the terms of the former couple's settlement, specifically barring Hall from providing story ideas to the show's writers. While far from conventional, the terms appear to imply that Murdoch feared some form of blowback from Hall about the sudden divorce, which reportedly "blindsided" his wife of five years.

"At the age of 91, Murdoch blew up his fourth marriage," the publication writes. "Hall was waiting for Murdoch to meet her at their Oxfordshire estate last June when she checked her phone. 'Jerry, sadly I’ve decided to call an end to our marriage,' Murdoch’s email began, according to a screenshot I read. 'We have certainly had some good times, but I have much to do…My New York lawyer will be contacting yours immediately.'"

Shortly after the divorce was finalized last August, photos began surfacing of Murdoch and his new girlfriend, Ann Lesley Smith. This March, the couple announced their engagement—she would have become Murdoch's fifth wife—only to call of the wedding a little over two weeks later.

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