Netflix is being sued by a former chess champion for allegedly making sexist comments in the show The Queen’s Gambit.
The chess world champion was sued by a former chess champion for making a sexist comment in the Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit.
The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards will air on Sunday, and several of our favorite programs, from WandaVision to Star Wars: The Mandalorian, are nominated. The Queen’s Gambit, which has previously won nine Creative Arts Emmys, will compete in many key categories on Sunday, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series for Anya Taylor-Joy. Despite the show’s popularity, one individual is unhappy with Netlfix’s portrayal of the chess world. Nona Gaprindashvili is suing Netflix, according to The Hollywood Reporter, over a statement about her in one of the show’s episodes.
Gaprindashvili was a world-class chess player in the 1970s, and The Queen’s Gambit referenced her by name in the last episode when one of the commentators was discussing Taylor-fictitious Joy’s character, Beth Harmon. “Her sex is the one thing that stands out about her. Even in Russia, this isn’t unusual. Nona Gaprindashvili is another option, but she is the female world champion and has never fought a man.”
“The claim that Gaprindashvili ‘had never encountered males’ is obviously untrue, as well as being excessively sexist and demeaning,” according to Gaprindashvili’s complaint. Gaprindashvili claims she had faced at least 59 men by 1968, including ten grandmasters. “Netflix shamelessly and intentionally lied about Gaprindashvili’s accomplishments for the cheap and cynical goal of ‘heightening the drama’ by making it seem that its fictitious hero had accomplished something no other woman, including Gaprindashvili, had accomplished.”
The fact that Gaprindashvili was referred to be Russian was another piece of disinformation in the series. “To add insult to injury, Netflix referred to Gaprindashvili as Russian despite knowing she was Georgian and that Georgians had suffered under Russian dominance when part of the Soviet Union, and had been harassed and invaded by Russia afterwards,” the complaint continues.
“Netflix has only the greatest regard for Ms. Gaprindashvili and her distinguished career,” a Netflix representative replied, “but we think this claim has no validity and will aggressively fight the matter.”
Last year, I chatted with Taylor-Joy about her character Beth’s path to become one of the world’s most renowned chess players.
“It’s really interesting and lovely to me that Beth is so outside of society, that she’s genuinely surprised by the idea that people speak about her gender instead of the great performance she just created,” Taylor-Joy said. “I believe I had a lot of fun playing with that degree of confidence in my own abilities. I believe that being aware of history is essential not just as a performer, but also as a human being. But it felt wonderful to go up to someone and say, ‘I’m aware of everything.’ It has nothing to do with this character. I’m going to let it go,’ and just come up and do my thing. So, no, I wouldn’t call it a difficult task. It was very freeing, in my opinion.”
How do you feel about Gaprindashvili’s lawsuit? Tell us about it in the comments section!
The Queen’s Gambit is now available to watch on Netflix.
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