Rachel Williams has filed a lawsuit against Netflix executives over her portrayal in Inventing Anna.
The former photo editor and producer for Vanity Fair was played by Katie Lowes in the drama miniseries, which was released in February. The show was inspired by the story of Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, who pretended to be a German heiress and was accused of conning Williams out of $62,000 (£52,000).
On Monday, lawyers for Williams filed a defamation lawsuit in Delaware in which they alleged she was portrayed in a negative light.
"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," the complaint states, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition, Williams has issues with a scene in the show in which she is allegedly portrayed as a "freeloader", and the pivotal sequence set in Morocco in which she leaves a luxury resort after her former friend's credit card is declined.
"Williams did not stop being friends with Sorokin because Sorokin was having problems in Morocco, but rather because she subsequently discovered on her return to New York that Sorokin was a liar and a con artist whose statements and promises had induced Williams to incur liabilities of around $62,000 on Sorokin's behalf were false, and who only reimbursed her $5,000 despite numerous promises to reimburse her $70,000 to account for the full debt and any late fees incurred," the lawsuit continues.
Williams has written a book titled My Friend Anna: The True Story of the Fake Heiress of New York City about her experiences.
Representatives for Netflix and producer Shonda Rhimes have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Sorokin served just under two years in prison on grand larceny charges and was released in February 2021. However, she was taken into custody for overstaying her visa and is currently in jail contesting her deportation to Germany.
