Chess icon sues Netflix for Queen's Gambit portrayal
Soviet-era chess grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili has filed a defamation lawsuit against streaming channel Netflix over a line in the channel’s record-breaking hit limited series, The Queen's Gambit.
A $5 million defamation lawsuit has been filed against the streaming giant over a false and sexist line in the series.
According to Reuters, the case has been filed by the world's first female chess grandmaster, Gaprindashvili, saying that she was incorrectly portrayed in the Anya Taylor-Joy starrer series.
In the lawsuit, Gaprindashvili alleged that the makers of the show about fictional American chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Taylor-Joy) have deliberately and knowingly misrepresented truths about the Georgian grandmaster’s pathbreaking career.
The 80-year old was described in the show's last episode as a female champion who had "never faced men."
The suit filed on Gaprindashvili's behalf in a U.S. federal court in Los Angeles said the reference to her was "degrading her accomplishments before an audience of many millions."
The legal papers accessed by Reuters said the five-time world champion was "the first woman in history to achieve the status of international chess grandmaster among men."
She had played against at least 59 male chess players by 1968, the year in which the episode was set, according to the legal papers.
Netflix did not immediately reply to a request for comment but was cited in U.S. media as saying it would "vigorously defend the case".
"We believe this claim has no merit," a spokesperson for U.S. streaming giant was quoted as saying.
The Queen's Gambit was viewed in more than 62 million households in the first 28 days after its release, according to Netflix. It won two awards at this year's Golden Globes and has garnered 18 nominations at the Emmy Awards, which will take place this weekend.