September 7, 2022, 4:39 PM
September 7, 2022, 4:39 PM
Former Georgian world chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili reached a out-of-court settlement with Netflix to end its lawsuit against the streaming giant for defamation in the series Queen’s Gambit, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
“I am pleased that the matter has been resolved,” the lawyer, Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, told AFP.
The case was dismissed with the agreement of all parties, who had been in mediation proceedings since March.
Gaprindashvili sued Netflix in september 2021 for 5 million dollars, alleging that in the series a character claims that she had “never faced men” in her career and that this phrase was “extremely sexist and demeaning”.
In 1968 – the year in which the series is supposed to take place – the Soviet legend had already faced dozens of male competitors.
The Netflix Lawyers tried to get the lawsuit dismissed with the argument that the series is a work of fiction and is therefore covered by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects free speech.
However, a federal judge denied his motion, noting that “the fact that the series is a work of fiction does not release Netflix from liability for defamation if all the elements of defamation are present”.
The Queen’s Gambit, starring actress Anya Taylor-Joy, is based on a 1983 novel by Walter Tevis and tells the story of a young orphan who becomes the best chess player in the world.
While the central character of Beth Harmon is fictional, the series includes the names of several real-life chess players, including Gaprindashvili.
Gaprindashvili was the first woman to receive the Grandmaster title from the International Chess Federation, in 1978.
