Ava DuVernay and Netflix have settled a defamation lawsuit filed by a former New York City prosecutor who disapproved of her portrayal in the acclaimed limited series “When They See Us.” Defendants Netflix and DuVernay released a joint statement Tuesday with the plaintiff, Linda Fairstein, outlining the terms of the settlement. As part of the deal, Netflix has agreed to relocate the following disclaimer from the end credits to the beginning of the show.
“While the motion picture is inspired by actual events and persons, certain characters, incidents, locations, dialogue, and names are fictionalized for the purposes of dramatization,” the disclaimer reads. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based streaming giant has also promised to donate $1 million to the Innocence Project, a social justice organization that advocates for people who are wrongly incarcerated.
Fairstein will not receive any money as part of the agreement. DuVernay issued her own statement saying that Fairstein “had her husband call to pull the plug” on the lawsuit days before they were scheduled to appear in front of a New York City jury. The filmmaker said that she and Netflix rejected Fairstein’s original demands, which included “a cash payout” and a disclaimer stating that “everything to do with her in the show was fabricated.
” “I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five inno.