Former Manhattan prosecutor settles defamation suit against Netflix, creators for portrayal in ‘When They See Us’ series

By Zenebou Sylla, CNN

(CNN) — A former Manhattan prosecutor reached a settlement with Netflix Tuesday after she sued the company and the creators of the 2019 series “When They See Us” for defamation, according to a statement from her attorney and court filings.

Linda Fairstein, a former prosecutor who was part of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office when it tried the criminal case against the young men who became known as the “Central Park Five,” filed a suit against Netflix, “When They See Us” producer and director Ava DuVernay and writer Attica Locke in March 2020, CNN previously reported. The suit, originally filed in Florida, was transferred to the Southern District of New York according to court filings.

The case was “dismissed with prejudice,” a Tuesday court filing signed by attorneys for Fairstein, DuVernay, Netflix and Locke said. A federal judge previously denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment.

“Today, after nearly five years of litigation, Netflix, Ava Duvernay and Attica Locke – those responsible for the 2019 Series ‘When They See Us’ – agreed to a resolution of my defamation lawsuit,” a statement from Ms. Fairstein and Nesenoff & Miltenberg, LLP counsel Kara Gorycki and Andrew Miltenberg said in a statement Tuesday.

The Netflix series will now have a disclaimer that elements of the series were fictionalized, according to a statement from Miltenberg.

“When They See Us” told the stories of the five teen boys of color who were wrongly convicted of taking part in the rape and beating of a woman who had been jogging in Central Park in 1989. Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam and Antron McCray spent years in prison before their convictions were later vacated because of DNA evidence. Convicted serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the crime in 2002, CNN previously reported.

On Tuesday, a joint statement from Netflix, DuVernay, Locke and Fairstein said that “the parties announce that they have resolved this lawsuit. Netflix will donate $1 million to the Innocence Project. Ms. Fairstein will not receive any money as part of this settlement.”

In her federal suit, Fairstein alleged nearly every scene of the series with scenes depicting her – played by actor Felicity Huffman – were false and defamatory. Fairstein claims that while she was the head of the sex crimes unit at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 1989, she did not personally prosecute the Central Park Five case but acknowledges she did provide technical assistance to the lead prosecutor and serve as a witness for the prosecution, CNN previously reported.

“When They See Us” was nominated for 11 Primetime Emmys in 2019, going on to win two trophies.

CNN’s Michelle Watson contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.