A former friend of con artist Anna Sorokin was allowed Tuesday to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over the Shonda Rhimes miniseries “Inventing Anna.”
Netflix argued that Rhimes and the show’s other creators have a “literary license” to provide their interpretation of events. In rejecting that argument, Chief Justice Colm F. Connolly found that at least some of the present characterizations may cross the path to defamation.
The plaintiff, Rachel DeLoache Williams, was pictured abandoning Sorokin in Morocco and ultimately betraying her to authorities. Williams claimed that 16 separate units of statements in the series falsely portray her as “snobbish,” “unethical” and “absurd.”
Sorokin pretended to be a German heiress named Anna Delvey. She ended up being fined by banks and other dishonest companies for around $200,000 and served almost four years in prison. She is now under house arrest while she fights deportation.
Williams, a former Self-importance Honest employee, wrote an article and then a book about her experience with Sorokin, whom she accuses of defrauding her of $62,000.
In its defense, Netflix argued that Rhimes’ version of the high-profile case was protected by the First Amendment.
“Surely, to allow constitutionally protected creative expression to flourish, content creators like Netflix
Some breathing body should be allowed to interpret the actions and decisions of those involved in a public controversy like the Sorokin trial,” argued the company’s lawyers, led by Thomas E. Hanson, Jr.
Hanson argued that Williams’ characterization was an opinion – and due to that fact protected by defamation charges. Hanson further argued that the representation was not false and was in fact supported by Williams’ personal account. In filing the suit, Hanson claimed that Williams was merely trying to “suppress expression that she doesn’t like” in favor of her preferred event model.
Williams argued that the show was too sympathetic to Sorokin and distorted reality by transforming Sorokin’s character from a villain into an antihero, who the audience is asked to root for on some stage.
“Regardless of whether she is a con artist, the Collection presents as admirable Sorokin’s brazen willingness to lie, deceive, and steal from her far beyond the allegedly unfair obstacles rooted in paperwork, ageism, and sexism,” her lawsuit states.
Over the course of the case, the suit alleges that Williams’ character was transformed from a victim to a foil. According to reviews, the series portrays Williams as a freeloader and a false friend, who was only dating Sorokin because he would pay the bill.
In his decision, Connolly did not submit all 16 units of allegedly defamatory statements. However, he analyzed two of them, involving alleged abandonment in Morocco. In the present, Sorokin is seen drinking and depressed, and begs Williams not to leave.
Williams claimed that Sorokin knew all along that he might abandon the trip early, and the idea that Sorokin was distraught was a fabrication. The elected official discovered that the difference is a matter of truth – not opinion.
“As Williams alleges, the statements indicate that Williams ‘abandoned Sorokin when Sorokin was alone, depressed and in trouble in Morocco,’” the judge wrote. “And whether or not Sorokin was in a troubled state and Williams left her at that time will be confirmed as true or false.”
The plaintiff’s attorney has already served a number of subpoenas in the case, including some against Sorokin and Katie Lowes, the actress who plays Williams.
