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    • Netflix sues ahead of release of “The Manhattan Alien Abduction.”
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    Netflix sues ahead of release of “The Manhattan Alien Abduction.”

    Kathleen William Posted on

    Topline

    The woman whose claim of a 1989 alien abduction is documented in a new Netflix documentary set to be released Wednesday has sued the streamer in New York Supreme Court, claiming “The Manhattan Alien Abduction” defames her, says portrays her in an unflattering light and steals the streamer's work from an author who first wrote about her story more than 20 years ago.

    Important 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 stop the release of “The Manhattan Alien Abduction.” . is set to release on the streamer on October 30th.

    Napolitano and the Hopkins estate filed a lawsuit Monday against Netflix, Top Hat Productions, several people involved in the docuseries' production and the estate of Carol Rainey, Hopkins' late ex-wife who appears in the documentary.

    The Netflix docuseries appears to involve several participants, including Rainey, who deny Napolitano's claims that she was kidnapped, and an unnamed participant is quoted in the trailer as saying she “doubled Budd” during he wrote the book.

    The complaint alleges that Netflix allowed Rainey to play a prominent role in the docuseries as a “skeptic” in the field while she was allegedly a “bitter, alcoholic ex-wife bent on revenge against her husband.” which cast both Hopkins and Napolitano in a negative light.

    Napolitano said she agreed to Netflix's portrayal of her story after being promised that only an interview with Rainey would be used and that the “true story of her abduction would finally be presented,” but was instead denied a screening of the series surprised in September.

    Napolitano claims that the series portrays her as “a villain for the purposes of controversy and conflict,” defames her personality 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.

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    Important background

    Napolitano, a housewife in New York, has long claimed that she was abducted by aliens and left floating in Manhattan until she boarded a UFO on November 30, 1989. More than a dozen witnesses came forward to support Napolitano's claim. They saw a woman floating in the sky before she floated into an alien spacecraft. Promotional materials released by Netflix for the docuseries say they will examine whether Napolitano's story was “an elaborate hoax – or evidence of alien life,” and also includes Rainey's claims that she has long been frustrated by that her ex-husband “ignored discrediting elements” The claim has been recounted several times, first by Hopkins in his 1997 book “Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction,” as well as on the podcast “Somewhere in the Skies” in 2018 and in a documentary called “Somewhere in the Skies” in 2022, “Linda Napolitano: The Alien Abduction of the Century.”

    Crucial quote

    “It’s not easy to believe, let’s be honest,” Napolitano says in a trailer for the Netflix docuseries. “But these aliens, if they want you, they'll get you.”

    Further reading

    Forbes“Aliens and Ghosts in 'Files Of The Unexplained' Makes Documentaries Netflix's No. 4 Series”From Mary Whitfill RoeloffsForbesWho is the Zodiac Killer? Netflix docuseries reveals shocking evidence about prime suspectFrom Monica MercuriForbesNetflix releases documentary about the kiss that changed Spanish footballFrom Asif Burhan

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    Kathleen William
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