‘Anna’s Invention’ sparks defamation lawsuit against Netflix

Netflix’s penchant for docu-dramas has gotten the streamer into trouble, this time courtesy of Rachel Williams, associate of New York scammer Anna Sorokin. On Monday, he sued the company for defamation for portraying him. ana’s invention.

The series is based on May 2018. New York The article shows the fraud and downfall of Sorokin, better known as Anna Delvey. In the show, Sorokin cheats New York’s upper class by faking his fortune as a German heiress and defrauding millions of banks to finance his extravagant lifestyle. It includes a whimsical disclaimer: “This story is completely true. except those parts which are completely composed.’

Williams-Ex vanity fair A photo editor who previously published an article about her time with Sorokin. New YorkHis appeal arrived, stating that nearly everything about the show’s character is made up. According to Netflix’s version of events, Williams happily accepts lavish gifts and travel from Sorokin, but sells his friend to the authorities after learning that Sorokin has cheated him out of his fortune.

“This action demonstrates that Netflix made a deliberate decision for dramatic purposes to show Williams doing or saying things in the series that portray him as greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic,” the complaint reads. in Delaware State Court.

In one scene, a lawyer forces Williams to admit during Sorokin’s fraud trial that Sorokin paid the bill every time they went out. The suit says the purpose of the interrogation was to suggest that Williams is a freeloader, which he believes to be false because he sometimes paid for drinks and billed for some spa treatments and dinners.

In another scene, Williams leaves Sorokin in Morocco after his credit card refuses to stay at a luxury resort. Williams says he told Sorokin before the trip that he had to go to work in France on a specific date. It is implied that Williams ended his friendship with Sorokin after his friend went through financial difficulties, according to the lawsuit.

Williams ended his friendship with Sorokin not because Sorokin was in trouble in Morocco, but because he discovered that Sorokin, after returning to New York, was a liar and a fraud whose statements and promises forced Williams to take responsibility for those around him. The $62,000 in Sorokin’s name was false, and Win only refunded him $5,000, despite multiple promises to pay $70,000 in total to cover the outstanding balance and late fees,” the complaint states.

Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, who represents Williams, said the lawsuit alleges that his client’s character was intentionally misrepresented to tell a better story. He points to an interview with Shonda Rhimes, executive producer and creator of the series.

“We wanted to know what we were creating,” Rhimes says in the interview. “We didn’t want to invent things just for the sake of it.” He adds, “We wanted to make up moments intentionally, not just make them up randomly.”

in another interview the hollywood reporterRhimes says, “We invented things because invention was necessary for the story to really sing and be what it was supposed to be.”

Katie Lowes, who played Williams on the series, also says during the interview that “[The Rachel character is] please guys. He is young, naive and had a privileged life. I don’t think this necessarily applies to Rachel Williams in real life; I think it’s about the character that Shonda wrote and what Shonda needed to be that character on the show.”

According to Rufus-Isaacs, the statements represent an admission that Netflix knew the defamatory statements and actions were false, but went ahead with it anyway, so the show had a villain. Rhimes and Shondaland are not named in the complaint.

For defamation cases to be successful against high-profile public figures, there must be a demonstration that the allegedly defamatory statements were made with real malice. There must be intent to injure with foreknowledge that what is said is false, or reckless disregard for the truth. Multiple defamation lawsuits, including from Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and the person who sued her for portraying her. street wolfDid not meet the standard.

Williams, who chose his rights vanity fair Article and unwritten book tell HBO THR“Netflix deliberately used my real name and real aspects of my life to create a completely false and defamatory portrayal. Truth matters and portraying real people requires real responsibility. I am filing this lawsuit to hold Netflix responsible for its willful recklessness. ”

Williams’ character is the only one on the show to have the full name of a real person and share the same employer, alma mater and neighborhood as the real person, according to the lawsuit, which alleges defamation and invasion of privacy by false light.

“The reason we had to file this lawsuit is because Netflix used Rachel’s real name and biographical details and made her look like a horrible person, which she is not,” says Rufus-Isaacs. Devastating damage to her reputation could have been avoided if only Netflix had used a fictitious name and other details. Why didn’t they do it for him when they made series for so many other characters? Perhaps the reason was that he chose to play on another team, namely HBO.

In 2017, Sorokin, who received $320,000 from Netflix for the rights to his story, was arrested in a sting operation with Williams’ help. He received parole after two years, after which he was taken to the US Department of Immigration and Customs for deportation to Germany.

This isn’t the first real-life project to take Netflix to court. Alan Dershowitz, a former Soviet chess grandmaster and Cuban expat organization, sued the Streamers for their performance in various shows and movies.

Netflix and Shondaland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.