Netflix, the popular streaming service, is facing legal trouble for using an image in one of its documentaries without permission from the person depicted. The company is being sued by a man from Kentucky, USA who alleges that he was defamed in the documentary. The documentary in question is a true crime production titled “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker”, which falsely implies that the man, Taylor Hazlewood, was involved in a murder. In the documentary, an image of Hazlewood is shown alongside audio that labels him a “stone-cold killer”. (veroinn.com)
The individual asserts that his pictures were acquired without his awareness from his Instagram account “despite having no connection to any aspect of the Film.”
On April 10, Taylor Hazlewood filed a lawsuit against Netflix for defamation and misappropriation of likeness or right of publicity. He is seeking damages of over $1 million, as well as punitive damages.
Image used in a murder documentary without authorization or consent
The 2023 documentary focuses on Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, who gained widespread attention in 2013 after using a hatchet to save a woman from an attacker. However, he was later convicted of the murder of an attorney in a separate incident. Hazlewood did not think much of his appearance in the documentary, despite his association with McGillvary, until close friends and family alerted him to the inappropriate use of his picture. They noted that his image was displayed again in the documentary after McGillvary was charged with murder. His friend texted him, “So something not so chill happens later in the documentary. Your picture shows up again after he’s charged with murder and it’s just bad vibes.”
Another friend messaged: “Dude this is so weird but I’m watching this murder documentary and they start flashing a bunch of peoples pictures and I said that is Hazlewood. Did they steal your photo? How did you get on there?”
Hazlewood files complaint against Netflix for unauthorized use of his image and defamation
In his complaint, Hazlewood asserts that the narrator referred to him as a “stone-cold killer” after describing McGillvary’s victim’s murder as “horrific and senseless”. Hazlewood also claims that he had no knowledge that his personal Instagram pictures, which show him holding a hatchet, would be used in the documentary. He alleges that this unauthorized use of his image has caused him reputational harm, stress, and anxiety, as he fears that others may view him as dangerous or untrustworthy.
“The use was not incidental. Instead, it was Netflix’s employees’ negligently searching for images of people holding hatchets to support their narrative,” he added in his complaint.
Hazlewood further contends that Netflix’s employees were negligent in searching for images of people holding hatchets to support their narrative and that the use of his photo was not incidental. Additionally, he accuses Netflix of improperly profiting from his picture, which he argues constitutes a false light invasion of privacy.
