Man sues Netflix in Dallas County for using his photo in true-crime documentary

A person is suing Netflix in a Dallas County court docket, alleging a true-crime documentary at the streaming carrier took a photo from his Instagram account and used it with out permission.

“Wtf? Explain please,” one in every of Taylor Hazlewood’s buddies requested after seeing his face in The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, in keeping with the lawsuit.

Hazlewood, a Kentucky resident, filed the lawsuit Monday, alleging that the movie depicts him in a “sinister and defamatory light” and has harmed his recognition by means of using his {photograph}. He is looking for greater than $1 million in damages.

The movie is ready a person with whom the lawsuit says Hazlewood has no connection — a hitchhiker named Caleb McGillvary who went viral for a TV interview he gave after intervening in an attack in California in 2013 and used to be later convicted of murdering a man in New Jersey.

The lawsuit says the documentary two times makes use of an image that Hazlewood posted on his Instagram account in which he’s posing with a hatchet in homage to his favorite childhood book, Hatchet by means of Gary Paulsen. Netflix’s misappropriation of the photo used to be “pure recklessness,” the lawsuit says.

Toward the tip of the film, the lawsuit says, a voice asks “Is this a guardian angel or a stone-cold killer?” simply as Hazlewood’s photo is displayed.

The lawsuit says many buddies and co-workers from across the nation contacted Hazlewood after seeing his photo in the documentary.

“Are you kidding? Did you not know you were going be in it?” requested one good friend, in keeping with the lawsuit. “Its just bad vibes,” mentioned some other.

The lawsuit alleges that using the photo in the documentary has tarnished Hazlewood’s recognition as a result of some other folks would possibly suppose the worst after they see it.

“The use causes Hazlewood a constant fear of losing future employment or relationships because of people believing he is dangerous or untrustworthy,” the lawsuit says.

Hazlewood’s legal professional, Angela Buchanan, is primarily based in Dallas, the place the case used to be filed as a result of “Netflix’s wrongful conduct occurred in all fifty states, including Texas,” the lawsuit says.

Buchanan and Netflix didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.