Fairstein felt she was unfairly portrayed in the Netflix series and filed a lawsuit against Netflix in March 2020.
Fairstein resigned from her position on Vassar College's board of trustees and from organizations following backlash over her role in the Central Park Five case.
Fairstein will not receive any money as part of the agreement.
Linda Fairstein and Netflix reached a settlement in her defamation case regarding Fairstein's portrayal in the 2019 miniseries 'When They See Us'.
The miniseries tells the true story of five Black teenagers who were wrongly convicted for the 1989 rape and beating of a white jogger in New York City's Central Park. DNA evidence was used to overturn their convictions, leading to a legal settlement with the city paying them $41 million.
The settlement includes a $1 million donation from Netflix to the Innocence Project.
Former Manhattan Prosecutor Linda Fairstein and streaming platform Netflix reached a settlement in her defamation case regarding Fairstein's portrayal in the 2019 miniseries 'When They See Us.' The settlement includes a $1 million donation from Netflix to the Innocence Project, while Fairstein will not receive any money as part of the agreement. Following backlash over her role in the Central Park Five case, Fairstein resigned from her position on Vassar College's board of trustees and from organizations. The miniseries tells the true story of five Black teenagers who were wrongly convicted for the 1989 rape and beating of a white jogger in New York City's Central Park. DNA evidence was used to overturn their convictions, leading to a legal settlement with the city paying them $41 million. Fairstein, who was head of Manhattan District Attorney's sex crimes unit at the time, felt she was unfairly portrayed in the Netflix series.
Fairstein filed her lawsuit against Netflix in March 2020 and it was set to go to trial later that month. In a joint statement, Fairstein, Netflix, Ava DuVernay, Attica Locke and the legal teams involved announced the settlement. Fairstein expressed her belief that she was unfairly portrayed in the series and felt her actions and responsibilities were reverse-engineered to attribute them to her without evidence.
The case marked a precedent as it was the first defamation case concerning a dramatic streaming series to advance through summary judgment and stand at the brink of trial. Fairstein's attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, stated that they were confident they would have won had the trial proceeded.
This article was originally published on various news outlets.
Former Manhattan Prosecutor Linda Fairstein and Netflix reached a settlement in her defamation case against the streaming platform over her portrayal in the miniseries 'When They See Us'.
Netflix will donate $1 million to the Innocence Project as part of the settlement.
Fairstein was dropped by her publisher and resigned from her position on Vassar College’s board of trustees and from organizations following backlash over her role in the Central Park Jogger case.
Accuracy
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None Found At Time Of
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The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting DuVernay's statements without providing any counterargument or evidence to refute her claims. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing Fairstein's actions as a 'miscarriage of justice' and 'playing the victim'.
The director said that Fairstein pulled the plug on her case rather than face cross examination before a New York jury.
DuVernay decried the former prosecutor for what she described as playing the ‘victim’ in the saga.
Ava DuVernay and Netflix reached a settlement with former prosecutor Linda Fairstein in her defamation lawsuit related to the series ‘When They See Us’.
The settlement involves Netflix donating $1 million to the Innocence Project, but Fairstein will not receive any money as part of the agreement.
Fairstein was the head of the Manhattan Sex Crimes unit and led the investigation and prosecution in the Central Park Jogger case, which resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent young men known as ‘the Exonerated Five’.
DuVernay expressed her belief that Fairstein was responsible for the wrongful conviction and praised Netflix for their support and generous donation to the Innocence Project.
The Exonerated Five, now advocates for justice reform, continue to be saluted by DuVernay and represent Harlem’s 9th district in New York City.
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The article contains editorializing and pontification by the author in statements such as 'I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys.' The author also uses emotional manipulation through phrases like 'harmed heaped on' and 'travesty of justice'. There is selective reporting as only details that support the author's position are reported, such as Fairstein not receiving any money in the settlement. The article also contains sensationalism with phrases like 'bullies', 'take their ball and go home', and 'miscarriage of justice'.
The deal she proposed involved her receiving a cash payout, as well as having a disclaimer at the top of the series WHEN THEY SEE US on Netflix which would state that everything to do with her in the show was fabricated. We refused both.
In the days leading up to her defamation trial, Linda Fairstein decided that she was not willing to face a jury of her peers.
I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys.
She also wanted an agreement that my co-writer Attica Locke and I would not talk about her in the future, and in turn, she wouldn’t talk about us. I agreed to keep her loss quiet as long as she would also agree not to talk about the Exonerated Five ever again. She refused this, and instead opted for no agreement regarding confidentiality at all.
Fallacies
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The author makes an appeal to authority when stating 'I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys.' This is an appeal to the author's own belief, rather than providing evidence or facts to support this claim. Additionally, there are instances of inflammatory rhetoric such as 'bullies' and 'wrongfully incarcerated men', which while not directly fallacious, can be emotionally charged and potentially biased.
]I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys.[
It's a phenomenon that often happens with bullies. When you stand up to them, unafraid, they often take their ball and go home.
Bias
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The author, Dominic Patten, expresses a clear bias towards Ava DuVernay and the Central Park Five in this article. He provides no counter-argument or balance to the one-sided narrative presented by DuVernay. The author also uses language that depicts Linda Fairstein as a bully and someone who is trying to avoid accountability for her actions.
I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys.
In the days leading up to her defamation trial, Linda Fairstein decided that she was not willing to face a jury of her peers. It's a phenomenon that often happens with bullies. When you stand up to them, unafraid, they often take their ball and go home.
Linda Fairstein is the woman whose boss, legendary NY District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, entrusted with the case, later telling The NY Times that 'His trust in her was misplaced' and that she disappointed him.
She had her husband call to pull the plug... rather than face cross examination before a New York jury as to her conduct and character.
Linda Fairstein settled her lawsuit against Netflix just one week before the case was set to go to trial.
The settlement includes a $1 million donation to The Innocence Project from Netflix and a disclaimer that will appear at the beginning of the four-part limited series When They See Us.
Fairstein will not receive any settlement money, as she stated.
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The article is deceiving by omission. It does not disclose that the Central Park Five case involved a wrongful conviction and that the docuseries was created to highlight this injustice. The author also implies that Linda Fairstein had a right to her portrayal in the series when, in fact, she was a public figure and therefore did not have a right to privacy. Additionally, it is deceptive for the article to claim that Fairstein will not receive any money from the settlement when it actually states that she will not receive settlement money.
The motion picture is inspired by actual events and persons, certain characters, incidents, locations, dialogue, and names are fictionalized for the purposes of dramatization.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting Ava DuVernay's statement about the lawsuit being dropped and her allegations against Fairstein. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing Fairstein as a 'villainous caricature' and 'bullies'. No formal fallacies or dichotomous depictions were found.
The parties announce that they have resolved this lawsuit. Netflix will donate $1 million to the Innocence Project. Ms. Fairstein will not receive any money as part of this settlement.
She has suggested that the false story she tells about these wrongfully incarcerated men is the only right one, and that their experiences are not worth being heard or believed.
It's a phenomenon that often happens with bullies. When you stand up to them, unafraid, they often take their ball and go home.
Linda Fairstein and Netflix reached a settlement in her defamation case regarding her portrayal in the 2019 miniseries ‘When They See Us’.
Netflix will donate $1 million to the Innocence Project as part of the settlement, while Fairstein will not receive any money.
Fairstein resigned from her position on Vassar College’s board of trustees and from organizations after backlash over her role in the ‘Central Park Five’ case following the series’ release.
The miniseries tells the true story of five Black teenagers wrongly convicted for the 1989 rape and beating of a white jogger in New York City’s Central Park. DNA evidence led to their convictions being overturned, and the city paid them $41 million in a legal settlement.
Fairstein, who was the head of Manhattan District Attorney’s sex crimes unit at the time, felt she was unfairly portrayed in the Netflix series.
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