Gov. Murphy's Daughter Is Not Getting Married In Morris County

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - For the past few weeks social media has been a blaze slamming Gov. Phil Murphy for ruining weddings with his executive order on limiting indoor gatherings, made to stem the spread of COVID-19, while preparing a ceremony for his own daughter at the Park Savoy in Florham Park.

It is a compelling narrative of hypocrisy, except for the fact it isn't true.

"The now persistent rumor circulating around social media that the Governor's daughter is getting married at our property is false and patently untrue," Park Savoy officials said in a statement. "We have been working tirelessly to make sure that when we reopen for indoor weddings we do so in the safest way possible for our couples, their families and guests."

Twenty-year-old University of Virginia sophomore Emma Murphy's supposed engagement has been used to bludgeon her father since New Jersey slowly began to reopen after its months long shutdown due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

This past weekend, a new false allegation claimed Emma Murphy wascelebrating with a bachelorette party at the Jersey shore. But it was actually Camille Tough, a South Jersey resident, celebrating her upcoming nuptials with three friends at the shore this past Saturday.

But when the four women were near a bar on the boardwalk, a man began "harassing" them and taking photos of them, she said Monday.

Sunday evening, someone posted a grainy photo of her and her friends to a New Jersey-based Facebook group that says it's run by "a group of members with experience in public safety past and present," along with the words: "Seaside Heights, Ocean County: We have received a photo showing New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy's daughter having her bachelorette party, ignoring the mask and social distancing mandate enacted by her own father."

The post was still up 24 hours later and had been shared 5,200 times by Monday night.

"Just wanted to personally post on this and say it isn't the governor's daughter it's ME!!!!" Tough wrote under the post Monday morning. "I was out enjoying my bachelorette weekend with my girls! We were harassed by a man claiming I was the governor's daughter and when we told him that I wasn't her he still continued to harass myself and my friends. Also he was not wearing a mask as well and tried to get extremely close to us."

She added, "I feel very sorry for the lack of respect people have towards other people. I feel sorry for the governor's daughter who is being attacked, no one should do that. I'm not sure what is happening to this world but people really need to love more instead of put out all this hate. These comments are cruel and unnecessary. Next time you want to put out something mean, maybe think about how it would affect you. Kindness wins !!!"

The false claim about the governor's daughter's engagement may have spread around the internet because the state's police superintendent said in April that his own daughter would have to postpone a wedding celebration. "With regard to the seriousness of how we're taking this and how everybody should, it was not an easy phone call to make last night, my wife and I made to my daughter who's supposed to be married in June," he said in the daily briefing. "Her reaction was one that you can well imagine of heartbreak."

In hundreds of internet posts since then, people have castigated both Murphy and the supposed location of the supposed upcoming indoor wedding, asking why others had to postpone special events and the governor's daughter did not.

For their part, the Park Savoy said they want to be open to celebrate special days for their couples and will be open as soon as they are authorized to do so.

This post contains reporting by Caren Lissner.

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