Russian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili sues Netflix. She accuses the series “Le Jeu de la Dame” of sexism and of having defamed it.
The legendary champion, now 80 years old, claims 5 million dollars (4.2 million euros). The complaint specifically mentions a sequence from the last episode of the series released in 2020, during which the heroine is in the middle of a game. We then hear a commentator launch this line: “The only unusual thing about her, really, is her gender, and in reality it is not so original in Russia. There is also Nona Gaprindashvili, but she is the female world champion, and has never faced the men ”.
“A sexist and contemptuous allegation”
“The allegation that Gaprindashvili ‘never faced men’ is patently false, besides being grossly sexist and contemptuous,” says the complaint. “Gaprindashvili is a pioneer of women’s chess and a much loved icon in her native Georgia. Throughout her extraordinary career, she has won numerous championships, defeated some of the best male chess players in the world, and was the first woman in history to achieve the status of international grandmaster of the game of chess in the midst of men, ”is also written on the document filed in federal court in California.
Lawyers for Nona Gaprindashvili claim that Netflix “with impunity and willfully lied about Gaprindashvili’s exploits in order to ‘heighten the drama’ in an unappealing way, making it appear that her fictional heroine had managed to do what no other woman, including Gaprindashvili, had done ”.
The platform issued a statement
“Netflix has the utmost respect for Madame Gaprindashvili and her illustrious career, but we believe that this complaint is not legitimate, and we will defend ourselves vigorously in this matter,” the platform said on Thursday (September 16th).
Watched by more than 62 million viewers around the world, The Lady’s Game has already been awarded several times and is nominated for the 2021 Emmy Awards, the ceremony of which takes place this weekend.
