Netflix and filmmaker Ava DuVernay have reached a settlement in a defamation lawsuit over the 2019 drama series When They See Us. The lawsuit was brought by former New York City prosecutor Linda Fairstein, who alleged defamation for her portrayal in the TV series.
The four-part series depicted the story of the Central Park Five, five wrongly convicted black and Latino teenagers accused of assaulting and raping a woman in Central Park in 1989. The trial was set to begin next week, but a deal has now been reached between both parties.
DuVernay stated that there was no financial settlement with Fairstein, but Netflix has agreed to donate $1 million to the Innocence Project, an organization that works to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals. Additionally, Netflix will make changes to the episodes, moving a disclaimer to the beginning of each episode stating that some events have been dramatized.
Industry insiders have been closely following the case to assess its impact on rules surrounding biographical TV shows and films. Fairstein, who was in charge of sex crimes in Manhattan at the time, alleged that she was depicted in a false and defamatory manner in the series.
In a statement, DuVernay expressed her desire for the case to go to trial, believing that Fairstein was responsible for the wrongful convictions. Fairstein, on the other hand, stated that settling the case before trial was about setting the historical record straight and that the portrayal of her in the series was not accurate.
The Central Park Five case remains a significant moment in history, highlighting the wrongful convictions of five young men who were falsely accused of a crime they did not commit.
