Real ‘Lioness’ Operatives Slam Sheridan: ‘Total Fantasy’
The Real "Lioness" vs. The TV Show: Why Veterans Are Upset
What’s All the Fuss About?
Imagine someone made a movie about your life—but they changed almost everything. They kept your name, but made you a spy instead of what you really were. That’s exactly how the real Team Lioness veterans feel about Taylor Sheridan’s hit Paramount+ show "Lioness."
The show just started its third season starring Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman. It’s full of action, drama, and spy thriller excitement. But the women who actually lived this history? They’re not happy.
What the TV Show Is About
The series follows a top-secret CIA task force that:
- Uses female soldiers as undercover operatives
- Has them befriend the wives and daughters of terrorists
- Tries to stop major attacks from the inside
- Features high-stakes espionage and combat scenes
Important: The show is fiction. It’s a "what if" story created for entertainment.
What the REAL Team Lioness Actually Did
Here’s the true story that inspired the show’s name:
| TV Show Version | Real Life Version |
|---|---|
| CIA spy program | U.S. Marine Corps program |
| Elite female operatives doing espionage | Mechanics, engineers & combat medics |
| Befriending terrorists’ families | Searching Iraqi women at checkpoints |
| Offensive combat missions | Protecting translators & cultural liaison work |
The Real History in Simple Terms
- 2003 Iraq War – The Marine Corps needed female Marines
- Cultural Problem – Male soldiers couldn’t search Iraqi women (cultural/religious reasons)
- The Solution – Attach female Marines to male units temporarily
- Their Jobs – Mechanics, engineers, medics doing extra duty searching women
- Unexpected Result – They ended up in real combat despite rules saying women couldn’t be in combat roles
Key Fact: These women became some of the FIRST female service members in U.S. history to engage in offensive ground combat—even though it wasn’t officially allowed yet!
Why the Veterans Are Angry
Several original Team Lioness members have spoken out:
Ranie Ruthig (Original Lioness)
"It makes me mad that it doesn’t follow what we did at all. They took the Team Lioness name and twisted it into a spy thing. He took our history and kind of corrupted it."
Daria Sommers (Co-directed a documentary about them)
"The term Lioness is now honorific. The key thing is it has no basis in reality… If Taylor Sheridan had called the show something else, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."
Michelle Dallocchio (Team Lioness 2004-2005)
"It feels like appropriation. I see a really complicated women’s wartime history repackaged into something safer and sanitized for mass consumption—while erasing the actual women who lived it."
What the Show Creator Says
Taylor Sheridan (the writer/producer) has been clear:
- He never claimed it was a true story adaptation
- He says it was "inspired by a true story"
- He tries to "guess what’s going to happen politically and then fictionalize that"
Think of it like: "Inspired by true events" on a movie poster—it means they took a tiny seed of truth and grew a completely different tree.
Important Points to Remember
CALL OUT BOX: THE CORE ISSUE
- Name theft: Using "Lioness" implies connection to the real unit
- Erasure: The show replaces actual women’s history with fiction
- Sanitization: Real war is messy, complicated, and not "spy thriller" clean
- Credit: The real Lionesses broke barriers without CIA backing or spy gadgets
- Respect: Veterans feel their specific sacrifice is being overwritten
Summary
| Aspect | The Show | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | CIA | U.S. Marine Corps |
| Mission | Counter-terrorism espionage | Checkpoint searches & cultural liaison |
| Personnel | Elite spy operatives | Mechanics, engineers, medics |
| Combat Role | Intentional offensive ops | Accidental/unofficial combat exposure |
| Veterans’ View | Entertaining fiction | Feels like stolen identity |
Bottom line: Great TV show. Terrible representation of the real women who earned that name in Iraq.
FAQ: Your Questions Answered
Q1: Is "Lioness" based on a true story?
A: Only loosely inspired. The show borrows the name and the concept of women in combat-adjacent roles, but changes the organization (CIA vs. Marines), mission (spying vs. searching), and nature of the work entirely.
Q2: Did the real Lionesses do spy work?
A: No. They were regular Marines (mechanics, engineers, medics) temporarily attached to male units to search Iraqi women at checkpoints—something male soldiers couldn’t do for cultural reasons.
Q3: Why does the name matter so much?
A: "Team Lioness" represents a specific group of women who made history by accident—becoming some of the first U.S. women in ground combat despite rules against it. Using their name for a fictional CIA spy unit feels like erasing their actual achievement.
Q4: Has Taylor Sheridan responded to the criticism?
A: He’s maintained the show was never presented as factual. He calls it "inspired by" and says he fictionalizes political predictions. He hasn’t directly addressed the veterans’ specific complaints about appropriation.
Q5: Can I enjoy the show AND respect the real veterans?
A: Absolutely! Many people do. The key is understanding: the show is fiction using a real name. Enjoy the spy thriller, but know the real Lionesses were mechanics and medics who found themselves in combat—not CIA operatives playing spy games.
Want to learn more? Look up the documentary "Lioness" co-directed by Daria Sommers, or read interviews with veterans like Ranie Ruthig and Michelle Dallocchio. Their actual stories are pretty incredible—no Hollywood embellishment needed!