Netflix Sued Over 2 Series for Very Opposite Reasons

Netflix is being sued by two different people over two of its shows, though for very different reasons:

• 'Inventing Anna': Rachel Williams is the real-life ex-friend of con artist socialite Anna Sorokin, and she says the Inventing Anna series about the case uses her real name and background but makes up everything else about her, per the Hollywood Reporter. "This action will show that Netflix made a deliberate decision for dramatic purposes to show Williams doing or saying things in the Series which portray her as a greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic person," says the complaint filed in federal court in Delaware.
• The disclaimer: As THR notes, each episode of the series states: "This story is completely true. Except for the parts that are totally made up." Whether that's enough to protect Netflix and show creator Shonda Rhimes is a key question.

• Narco queen: The other lawsuit was filed by Mexico's Sandra Avila Beltran, who says the series Queen of the South on Netflix and TV's Telemundo is based on her life, reports the BBC. The series revolves around a woman who climbs from poverty to wealth by building a drug empire, and is based on a novel by Arturo Pérez Reverte—who VICE reports has said was based on Avila Beltran, though partly fictionalized. In this case, Avila Beltran isn't alleging that the series is false. The opposite: Avila Beltran, who has been called Queen of the Pacific, wants 40% of royalties for the telling of what she says is her life story. She alleges footage of her arrest was used in promos for the show.

(More Netflix stories.)