Anna Sorokin's Ex-Friend Sues Netflix Over 'Inventing Anna' Depiction

Netflix is embroiled in a brand-new legal dispute as Anna Sorokin's Ex-Friend, Rachel DeLoache Williams, sues the streaming service over her portrayal in the "Inventing Anna."

The limited series tracked the rise and fall of con artist Anna Sorokin, who used the pseudonym Anna Delvey and pretended to be a German heiress to defraud numerous businesses out of thousands of dollars. Unsurprisingly, Sorokin defrauded a few other people in her escapades, including her ex-friend Williams.

The pair had a falling out, and Williams subsequently cooperated with the police authorities to help capture Sorokin. Months after Netflix released" Inventing Anna," Williams filed a case in court against the streaming service, claiming that her representation in the series was defamatory.

Read on to learn more.

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According to People, the Tennessee native sued Netflix for defamation to express her dissatisfaction with how she was portrayed in "Inventing Anna." Williams' attorney, Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, said in an interview with the publication that the series exploited her details and depicted her as a dreadful person.

 "The reason why we had to file the case is because Netflix used Rachel's real name and biographical details, and made her out to be a horrible person, which she is not," the lawyer said

The lawsuit filed last Monday in the U.S. District Court of Delaware further stressed the view of Williams and her lawyer, calling out the streaming platform for using the seemingly false narrative to jazz up the series.

It read in part. "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,"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65xa8TG2G8o

Elsewhere in the suit, Williams asked the court to impose "punitive damages" on Netflix, saying that the streaming platform "gave fictional names to many of the real-life protagonists in the Sorokin saga who appear in the Series, but it did not afford Williams the same protection."

The docs continued, "Given the easy alternative of protecting her by using a fictional name, the decision to use her real name evidences Netflix's intent to harm her reputation, thereby justifying the imposition of punitive damages."

The lawsuit also claimed that Netflix chose to use Williams' real details as retaliation for selling her rights to a similar project about Sorokin being developed by HBO. For now, it's unclear when the case will be heard in court. Since it made headlines, Netflix has yet to issue an official response to the suit.

Williams wrote an essay for Vanity Fair in 2018 where she revealed that she first met Sorokin at the lounge of a high-end restaurant. The pair immediately connected and began close friends over a short period.

In the words of Williams, "she strolled into my life in Gucci shoes and Celine glasses, and showed me a dazzling, frictionless world of hotel living and Le Coucou dinners and infrared saunas and Moroccan vacations."

Williams also revealed that Sorokin paid for most of their expenses during their outings. However, things between the pair went sour after Sorokin allegedly left Williams with a $62,000 tab while they vacationed in Morocco.

Williams then assisted the police in compiling a case against Sorokin, leading to the con artist's 2017 arrest. She later penned a book published by Simon & Schuster "My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress."

Although the jury in Sorokin's trial did not find her guilty of stealing from Williams, Sorokin was sentenced to jail for eight charges, including three counts of first-degree, second-degree, and third-degree grand larceny, in addition to theft of services.

Over the course of her numerous schemes, she successfully defrauded several of New York's wealthy folks of hundreds of thousands of dollars while receiving complimentary services from various businesses, including hotels. During that run, she also tried to defraud banks and her friends out of millions of dollars.

Sorokin served two years in prison for her crimes and is currently being held in an ICE detention facility after being rearrested for overstaying her visa. Her attorney is currently working on an appeal against her impending deportation.