Netflix is facing a defamation lawsuit filed by best-selling author and former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein over her portrayal in the 2019 crime drama “When They See Us,” which revolved around the Central Park Five case. US District Judge Kevin Castel recently ruled that Fairstein had validly alleged that Netflix, director Ava DuVernay, and writer-producer Attica Locke acted with malicious intent in five scenes of the series. These scenes presented Fairstein as a villain representative of broader issues in the criminal justice system. Judge Castel found evidence that the defendants manipulated the plot to attribute actions and viewpoints to Fairstein that were not accurate or supported by their research.
The series depicted the wrongful conviction of five black and Hispanic teenagers for the rape of a white jogger in Central Park in 1989. Another individual confessed to the crime in 2002. Judge Castel stated that a jury should determine if there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendants were knowingly deceptive. Fairstein, former head of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, alleged that the series falsely portrayed her as withholding evidence, coercing confessions, and ordering the unjustified arrest of young black men in Harlem.
Netflix, headquartered in Los Gatos, California, and the defendants’ legal teams have yet to comment on this ruling. Fairstein’s lawyer also refrained from immediate comment. The fallout from the series resulted in Fairstein losing her publisher, facing resignations from various boards, and experiencing significant backlash on social media through the hashtag #CancelLindaFairstein. The defendants argued that Fairstein provided no evidence that their portrayal of her reflected the truth, and they claimed that the lawsuit threatened the freedom of filmmakers to portray controversial real-life events from unique perspectives. The city of New York settled with the original five defendants for $41 million in 2014, although they did not admit any wrongdoing. The court case is Fairstein v. Netflix Inc et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-08042.
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