Former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein and Netflix announced Tuesday that they have reached a settlement in the defamation lawsuit she filed against the streaming platform over her performance in the 2019 miniseries “When They See Us.”
Fairstein filed the lawsuit in March 2020, less than a year after the series, directed by Ava DuVernay, debuted on Netflix. The defamation case would go to trial later this month.
“The parties announce that they have resolved this lawsuit. Netflix donates $1 million to the Innocence Project. Ms. Fairstein will receive no money as part of this settlement,” Netflix, DuVernay, Attica Locke and Fairstein said in a joint statement.
Following the series’ release, Fairstein was dropped by her publisher and resigned from her position on Vassar College’s board of trustees and organizations following backlash over her role in the infamous “Central Park Five” case.
The series tells the true story of five black teenagers who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for the 1989 rape and assault of a white jogger in New York City’s Central Park. DNA evidence was ultimately used to overturn their convictions. The city ultimately agreed in a legal settlement to pay the acquitted men $41 million.
Fairstein, who was the head of the Manhattan District Attorney’s sex crimes unit at the time of the case, felt she was unfairly portrayed in the Netflix series.
“Today, after nearly five years of litigation, Netflix, Ava DuVernay and Attica Locke – those responsible for the 2019 series ‘WHEN THEY SEE US’ – have agreed to resolve my defamation lawsuit,” Fairstein said in a statement to NBC News. “The decision to end this fight was not an easy one. We were prepared to present a compelling case to the jury, as expressed by Federal District Judge Kevin Castel in his strong decision denying the defendants’ motion for summary judgment.”
They added: “The defendants attempted to portray me as the villain of the series and ‘reverse-engineered plot points to attribute actions, responsibilities and viewpoints to me.’ were not minenor were they supported by any evidence in the defendants’ alleged substantial investigative material.”
Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer for Fairstein, said the case was “precedent-setting.”
“It was the first time that a defamation case involving a dramatic streaming series has reached summary proceedings and was on the verge of trial. We are confident we would have won.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
