Trivia

Ivy Meeropol, the director of this documentary, is the daughter of Michael Meeropol--the older son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The subject of this documentary, Roy Cohn, was a prosecutor in the Rosenbergs' espionage trial. Cohn was accused of (but never absolutely proven to have committed) an array of unethical and illegal acts during the trial, including encouraging Ethel's brother to lie on the stand to falsely incriminate Ethel and save himself and his wife. Cohn's actions led to the death penalty for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Michael and Ivy Meeropol's last name is not Rosenberg because after Julius and Ethel's execution, Michael and his brother were adopted by the activist and songwriter Abel Meeropol, best known for having written the anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit."

One of two documentaries about Roy M. Cohn released in 2019. The other one, Where's My Roy Cohn? (2019), received a limited theatrical run in September 2019.

The main title for this documentary, "Bully. Coward. Victim.," is drawn from the words on the quilt panel for Roy Cohn included in the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.