Netflix Faces Lawsuit Over A Single Line Of Dialogue In ‘The Queen’s Gambit’

Source: Netflix

The highly acclaimed and award-winning Netflix miniseries ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is causing headaches for the streaming service with a defamation lawsuit filed by Russian chess grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Gaprindashvili was angered by a single line in the show that she identified as “devastating falsehood, undermining and degrading her accomplishments before an audience of many millions.”
“The line in question comes in the series’ final episode, as the protagonist, Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy), competes for the world chess title in Moscow. An announcer, commentating during one of Beth’s matches, remarks, ‘The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex. And even that’s not unique in Russia. There’s Nona Gaprindashvili, but she’s the female world champion and has never faced men.’ The problem, however, is that by 1968, when the Queen’s Gambit scene takes place, Gaprindashvili had faced men several times,” EW explained.
Gaprindashvili’s lawsuit explained, “The allegation that Gaprindashvili ‘has never faced men’ is manifestly false, as well as being grossly sexist and belittling,” and that by 1968, “she had competed against at least 59 male chess players… including at least 10 Grandmasters.” Asking for $5 million dollars in damages, the suit alleges, “these facts were well known to Netflix,” and seeks at least $5 million in damages, as well as a court order to remove the offending line from the series.”
A Netflix spokesperson responded, “Netflix has only the utmost respect for Ms. Gaprindashvili and her illustrious career, but we believe this claim has no merit and will vigorously defend the case.”
The lawsuit was filed ahead of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ winning at the Emmy Awards, seizing the “Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series” and “Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.” Previously, the show also received the “Best Drama TV Series of the Year” at the IGN Awards. The miniseries also nabbed Golden Globes for “Best Limited Series or Television Film” and the “Best Actress – Limited Series or Television Film” for series lead Anya Taylor-Joy.

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Jacob Airey

Jacob Airey is an author, nerd, movie reviewer, and pop culture critic. He started this website in 2012 where he covers a vast variety of topics including film, TV, anime, and faith. He also hosts the YouTube vidcast StudioJake.

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