Ex-Prosecutor Linda Fairstein Can Sue Netflix Over ‘When They See Us’ Portrayal
Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA judge ruled on Monday that former prosecutor Linda Fairstein has a plausible claim that she was defamed by “When They See Us,” the Netflix series from Ava DuVernay about the Central Park Five case.Fairstein sued Netflix, DuVernay and writer Attica Locke in March 2020, alleging that the four-part series portrayed her as a “racist, unethical villain” who framed five young men for a brutal rape and beating.Netflix had argued that the show was protected by the First Amendment. In seeking to throw out the suit, the streamer argued that the filmmakers are allowed to use some dramatic license in creating a portrayal of Fairstein that was substantially true.U.S.