JonBenét Ramsey’s father is threatening to launch a substantial lawsuit against Paramount+ concerning their upcoming high-profile drama that delves into the unresolved murder of his daughter.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, John Ramsey expressed his readiness to pursue legal action if the series perpetuates past unfounded claims that implicated his son as the potential murderer, allegations he firmly dismisses as categorically false.

The anticipated limited series, featuring Clive Owen as John and Melissa McCarthy as JonBenét’s mother Patsy, was slated for release in the summer of 2026 on Paramount+.

However, whispers began circulating late last fall that Paramount executives were contemplating canceling the project altogether, despite its completion, due to concerns about potential legal repercussions over its narrative.

These concerns are not without precedent. Back in 2016, JonBenét’s elder brother, Burke Ramsey, launched a $750 million defamation lawsuit against CBS, which is currently under Paramount’s ownership, following the airing of a four-hour documentary that speculated about his possible involvement in the crime.

Burke was just nine years old at the time of the murder and has never been charged or publicly accused of any wrongdoing by police. The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount three years later.

Speaking to the Daily Mail last month, John Ramsey said the ‘horrible’ allegations aired in the CBS documentary had a profound effect on Burke and the rest of his family, adding that no amount of money could ever remedy the harm caused.

He warned that if the forthcoming Paramount series treads a similar path, should it ever see the light of day, he would not hesitate to pursue civil action again.

John Ramsey told the Daily Mail he won’t hesitate to sue Paramount+ their forthcoming series about his daughter’s murder makes any insinuations about her older brother Burke

The murder of JonBenét Ramsey in December 1996 remains one of the most famous unsolved crimes in American history

‘If this Paramount one went in the same direction [as CBS], you bet I’d take legal action,’ said John, 82.

‘JonBenét was brutally murdered, sexually assaulted, tortured. It was terrible. A nine-year-old boy didn’t do that. Police knew that, and for CBS to just accuse him of that – that was disgraceful.

‘There was a settlement and we’d do it again if something like that surfaced. It would be extremely cruel to do that [to Burke] again.’

Paramount+ and 101 Studios, the production company behind the series, have not yet responded to a request for comment from the Daily Mail. CBS has also been contacted for comment.

John said he hasn’t been contacted by Paramount and has no knowledge of what the series ultimately portrays. 

News of the Paramount show’s potential shelving first emerged in a report by industry insider Matthew Belloni in his Puck newsletter back in October.

Belloni said he had heard Paramount lawyers were ‘super nervous’ about the show. However, it was not clear which specific plotlines were the cause of their gravest concern.

The report stated that a full legal review was underway and there was a ‘strong chance’ the show would be scrapped to avoid potential litigation, with 101 Studios permitted to shop it around to other networks and streamers – meaning it could still be released elsewhere.

JonBenet’s brother, Burke Ramsey, sued CBS for $750 million in 2016 after the broadcaster aired a documentary, alleging his involvement, despite being just nine at the time

Paramount’s series, Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey, stars Clive Owen (left) as JonBenet’s father, John, and Melissa McCarthy (right) as JonBenet’s mother, Patsy

John and his wife Patsy Ramsey almost immediately became the lead suspects in the case. They were cleared in 2008 via DNA evidence 

No further updates have been shared.

During a red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight in January 2025, Melissa McCarthy offered a few cryptic remarks about the show and voiced sympathy for the Ramsey family.

‘It’s been quite the challenge, living with that poor family,’ McCarthy said. ‘My heart goes out to them… It’s still a blood sport.

‘I love Patsy, I love the family. I think we’re putting a really great version of it out. I’m hoping we’re giving them their humanity as well as telling the story… [This is] a family that lost a child. I’m really proud of it.’

Paramount’s decision to greenlight the show in 2024 came amid heightened attention on the case, which included a three-part Netflix documentary, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, in which John Ramsey participated.

This past Christmas marked the 29th anniversary of JonBenét’s death.

The young pageant queen was found bludgeoned and bound in the basement of her family home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 26, 1996, hours after John and Patsy reported her missing to police, saying they awoke in the early hours to find her gone from her bed and a strange handwritten ransom note left on a staircase near her room.

JonBenét suffered blunt force trauma and strangulation. There were also signs of sexual abuse.

The horrifying discovery was made by John, moments after a detective instructed him to sweep the home for any missed clues.

Almost immediately, he and Patsy came under a torrent of suspicion, with the Boulder Police Department convinced that one of them – if not both – had played a hand in the girl’s death.

JonBenét’s murder became a global headline. Theories abounded and disturbing accusations surfaced, but John and Patsy maintained their innocence.

The couple believed JonBenét was killed by an intruder, possibly someone who had fixated on her through the pageant circuit or harbored resentment toward John for his financial success.

As Boulder police zeroed in on the family, John and Patsy accused investigators of tunnel vision, saying their fixation on them came at the expense of pursuing other viable suspects in the earliest, most critical days of the case.

They remained prime suspects for more than a decade until 2008, when then-District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote to John Ramsey, saying new DNA evidence had absolved him, Patsy, and Burke of any suspicion.

Lacy formally apologized for the cloud of suspicion the family had been forced to live under for years. But the vindication came too late for Patsy, who died from ovarian cancer two years earlier at the age of 49.

The world remembers JonBenét as the tragic child pageant queen. But to John said there was so much more to his daughter than costumes and make-up

The Ramsey family home was the subject of a global media circus for months after the murder

John has spent the last several years publicly advocating for Boulder police to retest key evidence using modern DNA technology that has helped crack numerous cold and active cases nationwide.

Last month, Boulder Chief of Police Stephen Redfearn announced that his department had uncovered new evidence in the case. The chief shared that older artifacts were also being retested and new interviews conducted.

In response, John told the Daily Mail he is more confident than ever that the case could soon be solved – and the cloud that has hung over his family for nearly three decades could finally be lifted.

Trying to raise Burke and give him as normal an upbringing as possible in the aftermath of JonBenét’s murder was incredibly challenging, John said.

‘We used to have to hide him in the back of the car,’ he recalled. ‘We had to get him into school early, with friends driving a decoy car, while Burke lay on the floor in the back seat just to get him inside safely.

‘We didn’t want his picture taken. We were afraid for him because we didn’t know who this creature was – only that they were still out there.’

Despite their best efforts, pictures of Burke regularly appeared in newspapers and on magazine covers. John recalled seeing one headline that read ‘Brother Did It’.

Ahead of CBS’ documentary, Burke sat down for his first-ever public interview on the Dr. Phil Show 

Between 1999 and 2000, John Ramsey sued several publications and networks for accusing Burke of involvement in JonBenét’s death. All cases were dismissed after confidential settlements.

It was not until CBS’s documentary aired in 2015 that the family felt compelled to re-enter the legal arena, after years of working to maintain Burke’s privacy.

In the years following JonBenét’s death, John said he and Patsy sought professional guidance on how best to protect Burke from the psychological toll of the tragedy. They were told that while it is often easier for younger children to compartmentalize trauma, it becomes more difficult as they grow older.

John said the CBS documentary set his son’s progress back significantly.

‘They just aggravated it even more,’ he said. ‘It was a horrible thing for any media outlet to do, let alone a supposedly credible one.

‘Fingers crossed, Paramount doesn’t go down that route. I hope not – but we will address it if they do.’