On December 26, 2018, Netflix filed with the California Court of Appeal to have dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against it by The Queen’s Gambit. When its movie was released in 2016, Queen’s Gambit said that “Netflix has used gamification tactics on users without their consent or knowledge.”
The “Queen’s Gambit controversy” is a situation where Netflix refused to pay the licensing fee for The Queen’s Gambit. Netflix was sued by the producers of the show and they won their case in court.
The Queen’s Gambit is being sued by Netflix (Netflix/Reuters).
Netflix’s attempt to dismiss a defamation case filed in the United States for its successful series The Queen’s Gambit, which was created by female chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili, was refused.
The Georgian chess prodigy is suing Netflix for $5 million (£3.6 million), alleging that they misrepresented “one of her most major professional accomplishments” and misrepresented her ethnicity.
She was said to have been ‘humiliated’ when a character based on her was presented as Russian and declared that she ‘never confronted guys’ while acting.
‘Netflix has only the highest regard for Ms. Gaprindashvili and her outstanding career, but we feel this claim has no validity and will actively fight the lawsuit,’ Netflix said at the time.
However, despite attempting to have the defamation action dismissed by the courts, it has been determined that the streaming behemoth will have to confront the matter.
According to court papers acquired by the PA news agency, Netflix claimed that “no reasonable viewer would have interpreted the remark to convey a statement of truth” since the series was “an completely fictitious work.”
In the series, Anya Taylor Joy portrayed chess prodigy Beth Harmen (Photo: Phil Bray/Netflix).
The streaming behemoth also claimed that viewers would need ‘knowledge of competitive Soviet chess in the 1960s’ to comprehend the potentially libelous implications, according to the filings.
A judge in California’s Central District Court ruled earlier this week that there was no evidence of any instances ‘precluding defamation claims for the representation of actual people in otherwise fictitious works.’
‘On the contrary, if all the elements of defamation are otherwise present, the fact that the series was a fictitious work does not shelter Netflix from responsibility for defamation,’ according to court filings.
Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess grandmaster from the Soviet period. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)
Gaprindashvili was the first woman in history to be given the honor and status of International Chess Grandmaster among males, according to attorneys, which is not how she is referred to in the program.
Anya Taylor Joy’s prodigy Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor Joy) ultimately defeats Viktor Laev in the Moscow Invitationals, prompting the player to file a lawsuit against Netflix.
The camera cuts to another rival, which is ‘clearly supposed to represent Gaprindashvil,’ according to the first complaint.
While Beth and Viktor are both fictitious characters, Gaprindashvil is not, since she was described as a “pioneer of women’s chess and a much-loved figure in her own nation of Georgia” in a case filed in the Federal District Court in Los Angeles.
See also: Netflix
Behind-the-scenes on The Queen’s Gambit, chess specialists were engaged to assist those working on and acting in the mini-series.
Netflix is also alleged to have irritated Gaprindashvil by incorrectly portraying her as a Russian ‘despite knowing she was Georgian,’ especially given the ongoing animosity between the two countries.
Netflix has been approached for comment by Metro.co.uk.
The Queen’s Gambit is now available to watch on Netflix.
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In a recent move, Netflix has been denied motion to dismiss the defamation case by The Queen’s Gambit. This is because Netflix’s statement was deemed as defamatory in nature. Reference: queen’s gambit nona gaprindashvili.
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