Former Prosecutor Linda Fairstein Sues Ava Duvernay Over Central Park Five Series
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Former New York City prosecutor Linda Fairstein is suing Ava Duvernay and Netflix for portraying her “in a false and defamatory manner” in When They See Us, a Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five.
The miniseries focuses on the trials and convictions of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, the five teenagers who were imprisoned, and then had their convictions vacated, over the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger.
Fairstein was the head of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Sex Crimes Unit during the trial, while Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Lederer was the prosecutor.
DuVernay’s miniseries portrays Fairstein as a lead authority during the case, Fairstein’s complaint maintains, but she “was neither the lead prosecutor nor did she play any role in the courtroom litigation, other than as a witness.”
Fairstein’s lawsuit claims the Netflix series portrays her as having roles she never did, as well as being present at events and making statements that conflict with the historical record.
“As falsely portrayed in the film series,” the suit states, “Ms. Fairstein singlehandedly masterminds a theory of the case against the children by, among other things: unlawfully interrogating unaccompanied minors; calling for a roundup of “young, black” “thugs;” manipulating a timeline of events to pin the rape of the Central Park jogger on The Five; referring to people of color as “animals;” directing NYPD detectives to coerce confessions from unaccompanied minors who are beaten while in custody; suppressing DNA evidence; and forcing her colleague to prosecute a meritless case against The Five.
“In fact, Ms. Fairstein took none of these actions,” the suit states.
Fairstein believes “the film series was deliberately calculated to create one, clear and unmistakable villain to be targeted for hatred and vilification for what happened to The Five,” which resulted in “the false and defamatory portrayal of Ms. Fairstein.”
In response to the suit, a Netflix spokesperson told CNN: “Linda Fairstein’s frivolous lawsuit is without merit. We intend to vigorously defend When They See Us and Ava DuVernay and Attica Locke, the incredible team behind the series.”
This is not the first time Fairstein has claimed the miniseries defamed her. She called When They See Us an “outright fabrication” in an article for the Wall Street Journal, and claimed DuVernay “wrongly portrays [the five] as totally innocent—and defames me in the process.”
