NETFLIX SUED FOR “EGREGIOUS” RECKLESS IMPROPRIETIES IN THE MAKING OF THEIR MINI-SERIES “MANHATTAN ALIEN ABDUCTION”
Estate of Budd Hopkins and Principals Involved in his revealing book “Witnessed” Seek Redress For the ‘Hit Job’ Defaming Them About the True Story of a UFO Incident in ManhattanNew York, NY. November 4, 2024
Netflix’ recently released “The Manhattan Alien Abduction” may be garnering many viewers but the principals involved in the production of this claimed “documentary” have filed suit in New York State Supreme Court this week for their duped participation as a result of the lies and bad-faith of the behemoth on-line streaming channel and its producers. Promoted to be “based upon a true story”, little was further from the truth as rights holders and contracting parties were blatantly lied and deceived to become involved in the spurious story orchestrated by Netflix and its associates. Using the deeply embittered, revenge-seeking ex-wife as the protagonist, the producers suggested it was all a “hoax” and cast doubt and aspersions on the principals, both of who willingly participated in what they were told was to be a true account of the painstakingly researched and investigated book, “Witnessed” by author Budd Hopkins.Hopkins, a distinguished artist and investigator of the UFO phenomena, spent five years investigating the claims of Linda Napolitano, who has consistently maintained that she was abducted by aliens from the bedroom of her Manhattan apartment in November 1989. Assisted throughout by his longtime assistant, renowned ufologist Peter Robbins, Hopkins’ investigation concluded that she was telling the truth, which had been collaborated by 22 separate eye-witness accounts as set out in Hopkins’ best-selling book, “Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions”. It was this book that formed the basis of this new mini-series and which Netflix promoted as a “true story” upon which Ms. Napolitano and Mr. Robbins were told was to be the aim of the producers.While the pair were informed early on that Rainey had been interviewed for the series, and supplied archival materials, the fact that she was also directly involved in the production of said series was intentionally and deliberately withheld from them knowing neither would have agreed to participate had they been aware of the fact. Rainey, a self-proclaimed expert “skeptic” with zero background in the world of UFO studies other than her association with her ex-husband, colluded with the filmmaker and producers in creating a narrative driven by innuendo and suggestion that disparages Ms. Napolitano and Mr. Robbins, by their lies, the appearances they were compelled to assume, and the completely fabricated environments they were made to inhabit, along with the scripted dialogue.The Estate of Budd Hopkins, Linda Napolitano, and Peter Robbins filed suit to seek redress the bad-faith of the producers and Netflix, utilizing materials and papers apparently stolen from Mr. Hopkins by the ex-wife, without the consent and permission of the Estate. Napolitano and Robbins, now forever associated with this false narrative, seek redress and damages to their character and reputation for this defamation and fraud perpetrated against them.
“The story is nothing more than a “mockumentary”, based upon the egregious lies and deceit of the producers. Netflix and all of those who deceived our clients by their false promises and phony presentation distorting the truth will be held accountable. Had our clients ever known the truth of what these producers and Netflix intended to do for their sensationalism and marketing ploys for ratings, they would never have participated. We are confident that a New York jury will agree” stated Robert J. Young, attorney for the Plaintiffs.
The Court has issued an Order to Show Cause why a Preliminary Injunction should not issue to stop the presentation airing on Netflix as a result of the deceitful conduct, now to be heard before Judge Paul Allan Goetz in the Manhattan Supreme Court on December 5, 2024, at 9 a.m.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Woman Who Claims She Was Abducted By Aliens In 1989 Sues Netflix Over Docuseries
The woman whose claim of a 1989 alien abduction is chronicled in a new Netflix docuseries set to be released Wednesday has sued the streamer in New York Supreme Court, claiming “The Manhattan Alien Abduction” defames her, paints her in an unflattering light and steals the work of an author who first wrote about her story more than 20 years ago.
“The Manhattan Alien Abduction” on Netflix.
Courtesy of Netflix
Key Facts
Linda Napolitano and the estate of late author Budd Hopkins, who wrote the 1997 book “Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction,” have sued Netflix for damages and asked a judge to halt the release of “The Manhattan Alien Abduction,” expected to hit the streamer Oct. 30.
Napolitano and Hopkins’ estate filed suit on Monday against Netflix, Top Hat Productions, several people involved in the docuseries’ production and the estate of Carol Rainey, Hopkins’ late ex-wife who is featured in the documentary.
The Netflix docuseries seems to include several participants, including Rainey, who push back on Napolitano’s claims she was abducted, and one unnamed participant is quoted in the trailer as saying she was “pulling the wool over Budd’s eyes” during the book-writing process.
The complaint alleges Netflix allowed Rainey to play a prominent part in the docuseries as an expert “skeptic” in the field when she was instead allegedly an “embittered, alcoholic ex-wife hell bent on revenge against her husband” who cast both Hopkins and Napolitano in a negative light.
Napolitano said she agreed to have her story portrayed by Netflix after she was promised only one interview with Rainey would be used and that the “true story of her abduction would finally be presented,” but was instead blindsided by a screening of the series in September.
Napolitano claims the show sets her up as “a villain for purposes of controversy and conflict,” defames her persona and character and that “The Manhattan Alien Abduction” will “destroy her reputation as an honest and decent person.”
Netflix had not responded to the lawsuit in court as of Tuesday afternoon and did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
The True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘The Manhattan Alien Abduction’ – What Happened To Linda Napolitano?
Linda Napolitano continues to stand by her story that she was abducted by aliens outside her New York City apartment in 1989. Netflix’s docuseries The Manhattan Alien Abduction revisits what happened before and after the extraterrestrial event, which 20 people reportedly witnessed. But did the abduction actually occur, or was it all a hoax?The three-part docuseries explores the events surrounding the alleged Brooklyn Bridge Abduction. To this day, Napolitano maintains that she was taken by aliens from her high-rise in Lower Manhattan. The series includes interviews with both her supporters and skeptics, notably critic Carol Rainey, who spent years working to debunk Napolitano’s story until her passing in 2023.
Read on to learn about what happened during the alleged Brooklyn Bridge Abduction, including what “witnesses” have said about the incident and why critics like Rainey believe Napolitano made it all up.
What Allegedly Happened To Linda Napolitano?
Linda Napolitano, a NYC housewife and stay-at-home mom, said that on the night of Nov. 30, 1989, three extraterrestrial beings kidnapped her outside her 12th-floor downtown apartment.
She claimed that these non-human beings made her levitate out her window and into a spacecraft hovering above the city, according to Time.com. Napolitano argued that the aliens performed experiments on her before returning her to her bedroom.
How Did Linda Napolitano Meet Budd Hopkins?
A few months before the November 1989 incident, Napolitano reportedly sent UFO researcher Budd Hopkins a letter detailing a previous extraterrestrial encounter that she claimed to have endured during a weekend in the Catskills 13 years prior. Time.com also reported that she began to attend Hopkins’ support group meetings for abductees.
After this first supposed encounter in April 1989, Napolitano said that she found a strange bump on the side of her nose that was eventually revealed to be a strange foreign object. Hopkins believed that this was evidence that aliens inserted an impact into her nostril. However, the object had allegedly disappeared when a specialist tried to remove it.
Were There Any Witnesses Of The Brooklyn Bridge Abduction?
There were about 20 people who allegedly witnessed the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction. After the incident, Napolitano reported what happened to Hopkins, who claimed to have found over a dozen witnesses who saw Napolitano floating above her building.
However, none of the witnesses was publicly identified or interviewed in Netflix’s documentary. In his book Witnessed: True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction, Hopkins used pseudonyms for all the witnesses. There is also no evidence that security officers Richard and Dan, who were allegedly stationed in a nearby car to guard then-UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, actually existed. This claim is complicated by their communication with Hopkins, which was solely through letters.
Cuéllar later refuted the suspicion that he was affiliated with the abduction. “I cannot but strongly deny the claim that I have had an abduction experience at any time,” he wrote in a statement to PBS. “On several occasions, when questioned about that matter, I reiterated that these allegations were completely false and I hope that this statement will definitely put an end to these unfounded rumours.”
Napolitano maintains that there were real witnesses who saw what happened to her that night. “If I was hallucinating, then the witnesses saw my hallucination,” she recalled to Vanity Fair in 2013. “That sounds crazier than the whole abduction phenomenon.”
The docuseries features alleged descriptions from several witnesses from that night, though their accounts differ significantly. For example, one woman claimed to have seen a bright light shining through her curtains.
Who Is Carol Rainey?
Filmmaker Carol Rainey was formerly married to Hopkins and now believes Napolitano’s alien abduction story was fabricated. In the documentary, Rainey recalled that she initially believed Napolitano’s story and they became friends. But over time, Rainey began to question whether Napolitano was telling the truth.
In the docuseries, she explained how Hopkins hypnotized several people as part of his work and said Napolitano did not behave in the way most people do under hypnosis. Instead, she claimed that Napolitano mimicked other people who had been hypnotized on purpose, according to TODAY.com.
“I felt that Budd had lost his objectivity,” Rainey said in the series. “I don’t know if it was through the Linda case, or earlier than that. I couldn’t respect what I heard him do to people who were vulnerable, very vulnerable. I had to try to protect other people from being tormented this way. I was sick. I was literally sick of the whole business, and the only thing I could think to do was to speak out about it.”
Meanwhile, Napolitano denied Rainey’s accusations throughout the documentary. “She used my case and me and my family as a tool to get even with Budd.”
Why Is Linda Napolitano Suing Netflix?
Ahead of the Oct. 30 premiere of The Manhattan Alien Abduction, Napolitano sued Netflix, claiming that the project “defames her, paints her in an unflattering light and steals the work of an author who first wrote about her story more than 20 years ago,” Forbes reported.
The complaint alleges Netflix allowed Rainey to play a prominent part in the docuseries as an expert “skeptic” in the field when she was instead allegedly an “embittered, alcoholic ex-wife hell bent on revenge against her husband” who negatively portrayed both Hopkins and Napolitano.
Napolitano also said she agreed to have her story told by Netflix after she was promised only one interview with Rainey would be used and that the “true story of her abduction would finally be presented.” Instead, she felt blindsided by a screening of the series in September.
The complaint seeks an undetermined amount of monetary damages for six claims, including fraud, defamation, and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
The Manhattan Alien Abduction is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.
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