Chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili, the inspiration behind the Netflix series, "The Queen's Gambit," has settled with the streaming service in her defamation lawsuit.
Photo courtesy of the Dutch National Archives.
Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Netflix has settled a defamation lawsuit with the real-life chess champion behind the hit show, The Queen's Gambit, for what she called a "sexist and belittling" reference.
Court papers confirmed the streaming service's $5 million settlement with Russian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili, according to The New York Times. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Gaprindashvili sued Netflix last year after she said she was defamed during one episode when a chess announcer inaccurately claimed she had "never faced men."
In the scene, with actress Anya Taylor-Joy playing Gaprindashvili, the announcer said, "The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex, and even that's not unique in Russia. There's Nona Gaprindashvili, but she's the female world champion and has never faced men."
Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Netflix has settled a defamation lawsuit with the real-life chess champion behind the hit show, The Queen's Gambit, for what she called a "sexist and belittling" reference.
Court papers confirmed the streaming service's $5 million settlement with Russian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili, according to The New York Times. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Gaprindashvili sued Netflix last year after she said she was defamed during one episode when a chess announcer inaccurately claimed she had "never faced men."
In the scene, with actress Anya Taylor-Joy playing Gaprindashvili, the announcer said, "The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex, and even that's not unique in Russia. There's Nona Gaprindashvili, but she's the female world champion and has never faced men."
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Gaprindashvili, now 81, faced 59 male chess competitors by 1968, the year in which the series is set.
Gaprindashvili described the scene as a "devastating falsehood, undermining and degrading her accomplishments before an audience of many millions."
Netflix tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing the streaming service was protected under the First Amendment, but a judge rejected the argument in January, saying fictional works are not immune from lawsuits if they defame real people.
"Netflix does not cite, and the Court is not aware, of any cases precluding defamation claims for the portrayal of real persons in otherwise fictional works," U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips wrote.
"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."
Netflix appealed the January ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit , but the case was dismissed Tuesday with the settlement.
"The parties are pleased that the matter has been resolved," said attorney Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, who represented Gaprindashvili.
A Netflix spokesperson also responded, saying, "We are pleased the matter has been resolved."
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