Anna Delvey's Ex-Friend Sues Netflix Over 'Inventing Anna'​

On Monday, August 29, The Hollywood Reporterrevealed that Rachel DeLoache Williams is suing the streaming giant for defamation and false light invasion of privacy over its depiction of her in Inventing Anna, its popular drama about the infamous SoHo scammer, a.k.a. Anna Sorokin.

"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," per new court documents filed in the U.S. District Court of Delaware by Williams' lawyers.

Elsewhere, they also argue that the Shonda Rhimes-produced show unfairly characterizes the former Vanity Fair photo editor — played by actress Katie Lowes — as a freeloading fake friend who helps authorities arrest Delvey, even though the real Williams allegedly incurred "liabilities of around $62,000 on Sorokin’s behalf."

“The reason why we have had to file this lawsuit is because Netflix used Rachel’s real name and biographical details, and made her out to be a horrible person, which she is not,” Williams representative Alexander Rufus-Isaacs told the publication, before accusing Netflix of trying to punish her for optioning the rights to her story to HBO.

“The devastating damage to her reputation could have been avoided if only Netflix had used a fictitious name and different details," he continued. "Why didn’t they do this for her, when they did for so many other characters in the Series? Perhaps the reason was that she had chosen to play for the other team.”

The real life Delvey was previously found guilty in 2019 of defrauding members of New York's downtown party scene out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by posing as a German socialite. She was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay a $24,000 fine, as well as almost $200,000 in restitution. However, she was released on good behavior after two years and is currently in an ICE detention center trying to appeal her deportation.

Neither Netflix nor Delvey have addressed the lawsuit. In the meantime though, you can read all about The Hollywood Reporter's findings here.

Photo via Getty / Astrid Stawiarz