Netflix Being Sued By “Afflicted” Series Participants for Defamation, Fraud, and Invasion of Privacy

By B.N. Frank

Last year Activist Post reported about a Change.org petition signed by physicians, scientists, filmmakers, and writers requesting the removal of Netflix documentary series, Afflicted.  The series featured a group of people suffering from chronic debilitating illnesses who were trying to find answers and relief.

According to the series’ participants, Netflix and their producers lied to them and their loved ones about how they would be portrayed.  Now they are taking legal action.  From Courthouse News:

(CN) – Seven people whose lives were documented in the Netflix series “Afflicted” filed a $1 million defamation and fraud lawsuit Wednesday against the network and producers of the show over the depiction of chronic illnesses made to be seen as psychological.

[…]

They were told the show “would be a serious Netflix documentary, with science and interviews with experts in the field,” according to the 51-page complaint.  The “Afflicted” cast said producers lied to them about the nature of the series.

“The series is not a documentary in any sense of the word, but a reality series that advanced a producer-driven narrative, of which Defendant Partland was the ‘mastermind,’ suggesting that its’ subjects medically-documented physical illnesses are purely psychological and/or psychosomatic,” the lawsuit states.

Shortly after the show’s debut in August 2018, the series cast wrote individual blogs detailing their experiences with show producers. Jamison Hill, one of the listed plaintiffs who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, said he was disturbed by the show’s portrayal of his illness and scenes left out of him receiving medical treatment.

[…]

Pilar Olave said the show portrayed her as a woman taking advantage of her husband, “perhaps even entirely faking” her illness. Olave said she had gotten sick as a “result of a two-year gas leak exposure” in her home.

She said producers edited her responses to questions about her home life and husband.

[…]

The plaintiffs asked the court to order Netflix to remove the show from their offerings and for damages in excess of $1 million.

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