It’s not easy being a nemesis. Particularly if your opponent is Michael Moore.
Jim Kenefick has spent years trying to expose the documentary maker’s “deceptions and half-truths” through his website, Moorewatch.com, under the mantra: “Watching Michael Moore’s every move.” What he hadn’t counted on was that Moore would turn out to be his anonymous guardian angel, coming to his financial rescue with a cheque for $12 000.
The saga began last year when Kenefick was struggling to pay for healthcare for his wife, who was recovering from a neurological disorder and had no medical insurance. Kenefick, whose site is one of the most popular anti-Moore blogs, in desperation posted a note in which he pleaded for advice in words which he may live to regret: “If you can help, I will be in your debt for all of time.”
An operator like Moore doesn’t miss such a chance. Particularly as he was making his latest film — a journey into the tragic, farcical world of US healthcare. On May 1 last year Kenefick received a cheque from an anonymous individual for a lump sum equivalent to a year’s medical fees for his wife. It was enough to ease the crisis and ensure the continuation of the website, so Kenefick banked the cheque and put up a thank you note to the person he called his “guardian angel”.
Later Kenefick explained why he accepted the cheque: “I was led to believe this was a private individual that wanted to remain anonymous who just wanted to help me. What kind of moron turns down a free 12 grand?”
But his suspicions were soon aroused. The bank that guaranteed the cheque had branches near the headquarters of Dog Eat Dog, Moore’s production company. Then he received an email from an acquaintance saying: “What if Michael Moore sent you a cheque for your family’s medical bills?”
Confirmation came from Moore himself, who left a message on Kenefick’s answer machine on the day Sicko had its premiere at Cannes. He was the donor, he said, adding: “I wish you my best.”
To cap that, Moore had featured Kenefick’s problems with health insurance prominently in the movie.
Kenefick’s response to the disclosure that he had been helped by the man he has dedicated himself to exposing as a charlatan is ambivalent. The first reaction was anger: “Nice try, dude,” he posted, “but I’m not going to play your game. My accepting that donation has absolutely no bearing on the larger debate about healthcare in America.”
But he has softened. In an interview with Newsweek, he says he has no issue with Moore as a human. He has been used in the movie “as some sort of ‘gotcha’ moment”. But he also acknowledges: “Mike’s not the devil or anything. It’s not like Joe Stalin made me an offer.” — Â