Netflix is ​​constantly being sued for true event movies

According to Variety and many Western entertainment news sites, recently, Netflix has faced many lawsuits due to continuously producing documentaries that exploit hot topics and fictional films inspired by real events.

Most recently, Netflix was sued by diver Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras in the Court in the state of California - USA. In the lawsuit, this diver claimed that the movie "No Limit" produced by Netflix exploited the life of him and his wife Audrey Mestre but distorted the truth, implying that he killed his wife.

"No Limit" tells the fictional story of Pascal Gautier and Roxane Aubrey, both scuba divers. Pascal Gautier is portrayed as jealous of his wife's success. In the climax, the film implies that Pascal Gautier deliberately sabotaged his wife's oxygen tank, causing her to drown while scuba diving.

Scene from the movie "No Limit"

In real life, Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras and Audrey Mestre have achieved many glories in diving. Audrey Mestre died in a diving accident in the Dominican Republic in 2022 due to equipment failure. After the incident, many speculations and hypotheses were raised, and there was also suspicion that the husband was directly involved in his wife's death.

In his lawsuit, Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras accused the film of portraying him as a murderer. "I don't understand how people can do something like that. They spin the story the way they want and it hurts me," Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras said.

The film's writer and director, David M. Rosenthal, said he consulted with a lawyer before starting production and did not think there was anything wrong with the work of fiction. "This fictional story has been widely known to the public through documentaries, articles, and books. What I wrote is fictional, the characters are not real. I think Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras just wants to make more money by suing Netflix," David M. Rosenthal defended.

The film "No Limit" is also declared to be a work of fiction, any resemblance to real people is coincidental. It is inspired by real events. At the end of the film, the director left a scene with a photo of Audrey Mestre and information about her death.

Netflix has not yet commented on the lawsuit, but this is not the first time the platform has been sued. Previously, Netflix was sued by the Korean cult organization "The Baby Garden" which withdrew its lawsuit against Netflix Korea and instead sued Netflix's headquarters in the US, demanding 300 million won (more than 5.4 billion VND) in compensation for broadcasting a documentary related to this organization.

Movie "In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal"

"In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal" is a documentary that exposes the dark side of Korean cults. These cult leaders are said to exploit, abuse, rape, and kill followers in the name of righteousness and religion through flowery words and illusions about the fairy world and eternity.

The true stories of victims of heretical leaders told directly have caused controversy among viewers. Some believe that it should be told directly to increase deterrence, but others criticize the tactless and explicit way of telling the stories, which only hurts the victims more.

In 2021, Nona Gaprindashvili, a famous female chess player in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, sued Netflix for defaming her image in the movie "The Queen's Gambit." The chess player sought more than $5 million in damages for commercial contracts affected by the incident. The lawsuit mentioned a false statement that she "never played against a male player."

Netflix filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that their work was purely fictional. However, Netflix's request was rejected.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/van-nghe/netflix-lien-tuc-bi-kien-vi-phim-hu-cau-giong-doi-that-20230403115508913.htm