Netflix settles defamation lawsuit with Linda Fairstein over Central Park Five series portrayal

Former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein and Netflix have settled the defamation lawsuit she filed four years ago over her portrayal in the miniseries about the Central Park Five. The lawsuit claimed the series defamed her by showing her in a negative light. Fairstein will not receive money from the settlement, but Netflix will donate $1 million to the Innocence Project. The series will now include a disclaimer stating that it is fictionalized for dramatization purposes. The case was about protecting Fairstein's reputation and that of her colleagues. She was a prosecutor in 1989 when the Central Park Five were wrongly convicted of a crime. The convictions were overturned in 2002. Fairstein observed the boys' interrogation but did not personally try the case. After the series aired, she faced backlash and resigned from various positions. Ava DuVernay, the director of the series, and writer Attica Locke were also named in the lawsuit. DuVernay believes Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the teens. The settlement was reached just before the trial was set to begin. Fairstein stated that the lawsuit was about correcting the false portrayal of her character in the series.