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The Queen's Gambit: Netflix denied motion to dismiss defamation case

Published
8 hours ago

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Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon in the Queen's Gambit Image source, PHIL
BRAY/NETFLIX
Image caption,
The hit series focuses on the fictional chess player Beth Harmon,
played by Anya Taylor-Joy

Netflix must answer a defamation case over its hit series The Queen's
Gambit, a US judge has ruled.

The streaming giant is accused of misrepresenting "one of the most
significant career achievements" of chess master Nona Gaprindashvili.

She has taken issue with a line in the drama where a character claims,
falsely, that she "never faced men".

Lawyers said the error had "tarnished (her) personal and professional
reputation" around the world.

The Queen's Gambit, starring Anya Taylor-Joy is the fictional story of
the female chess prodigy, Beth Harmon. However, it features references
to real life competitors including Gaprindashvili.

In the final episode, a commentator compares Harmon's achievements to
Gaprindashvili's, but says the latter "never faced men" in competition.

Netflix said that "no reasonable viewer would have understood the line
to convey a statement of fact", according to legal documents seen by
PA, as it was an "entirely fictional work".

It added the the show's millions of viewers would require "knowledge of
competitive Soviet chess in the 1960s" to understand the alleged
defamation.
Nona Gaprindashvili plays a game of chess at the International Chess
Congress in London on 30 December 1964 Image source, Daily
Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Image caption,
Nona Gaprindashvili pictured playing at the International Chess
Congress in London in 1964

Netflix sought to have the case dismissed, arguing the First Amendment
afforded broad artistic license to the show's creators.

However, on Thursday, a judge at California Central District Court said
there had been no evidence of any cases "precluding defamation claims
for the portrayal of real persons in otherwise fictional works".

Adding: "On the contrary, the fact that the series was a fictional work
does not insulate Netflix from liability for defamation if all the
elements of defamation are otherwise present."

Gaprindashvili's lawyers noted that she had, in fact, become the first
woman in history to be given the honour and rank of International Chess
Grandmaster.

"During [Gaprindashvili's] career, she encountered severe prejudice
because she was a woman and often the only woman competing amongst
men," they wrote, in legal papers filed in the US.

"When the series aired, multiple news outlets and various individual
internet users commented on the inaccuracy of the line."

Gaprindashvili, according to the document, believes the show
"misrepresented one of (her) most significant career achievements...
before millions of viewers worldwide" and also "tarnished (her)
personal and professional reputation."

It said her reputation and brand was "inextricably bound up with her
courageous efforts to face and defeat estimable male opponents" in a
time when "chess was overwhelmingly a man's world".

More on this story

* [52]Chess icon sues Netflix over Queen's Gambit

Published
17 September 2021

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