The Greatest Showman movie is trash and I will not hear otherwise. Why? It skips over how P. T. Barnum became famous in the first place - by exploiting a enslaved, partially paralyzed Black woman named Joice Heth to launch his career (a thread) In 1835, Barnum "leased" Heth for his show for 10 months because outright purchase of enslaved persons was technically illegal where Barnum lived. However, this lease effectually gave Barnum legal property rights over Heth, despite his later claims about his distaste for slavery.