The legal battle between Netflix and Georgian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili over “The Queen’s Gambit” mini-series has ended following both parties reaching a settlement according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A judge refused to dismiss the case in January, leading Netflix to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was reviewing the case prior to a settlement being reached.
The issue arose out of the acclaimed mini-series in which a chess commentator says a line about its fictional leading character Elizabeth Harmon (Anya-Taylor Joy) that compares her to real-life Gaprindashvili.
The line says: “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.”
However in the lawsuit, Gaprindashvili claims that not only was the claim that she had never played any men false, but that it was also “being grossly sexist and belittling”. In addition, the episode was set in 1968, by which time Gaprindashvili had already competed against at least 59 male players, 10 of which were grandmasters.
Netflix’s argument against the claim was that since it was a fictional story, viewers understood the lines in the series to not be true. However, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips rejected that argument in January, noting Netflix acted in ‘reckless disregard’ for the truth by referencing Gaprindashvili specifically.
What settlement was reached is not clear, but Gaprindashvili says in a statement: “I am pleased that the matter has been resolved.”
Source: THR
