Netflix Hit With $1 Million Defamation Suit for Using Instagram Photo in ‘Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker’ Documentary

variety.com:

Ellise Shafer Netflix is facing a $1 million defamation lawsuit for using a Kentucky man’s Instagram photo in its “Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” documentary.

Taylor Hazlewood, a respiratory therapist in a neonatal ICU, alleged in a lawsuit filed in Dallas County, Texas on April 10 that Netflix used an Instagram photo of him without his consent in the doc.

Released in January, “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” details Caleb “Kai” McGillvary’s rise to internet fame after defending a woman from an attack with his hatchet while hitchhiking, and his subsequent fall after he was convicted of murdering New Jersey attorney Joseph Galfy.

According to the suit, obtained by Variety, photos of Hazlewood holding a hatchet were allegedly “extracted from his personal Instagram page without his permission, are placed with audio stating ‘stone-cold killer,’ with text captions stating that ‘you can never trust anyone,’ and with pictures of Caleb Lawrence McGillvary.” The filing states that Hazlewood took a photo with his friend’s hatchet in June 2019 because it reminded him of “his favorite childhood book,” Gary Paulsen’s “Hatchet.” He then posted it on his Instagram with the caption “Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.” Hazlewood alleges that Netflix “misappropriated” the photo by using it twice in the documentary next to photos of McGillvary.