Rachel DeLoache Williams Sues Netflix

I’ve wanted to write this particular piece for a while. Everyone knows about Anna Sorokin who pretended to be a fake German heiress named Anna Delvey and scammed several friends, hotels and banks. She was found guilty of her crimes in 2019 and is expecting to be deported back to Germany.  Around the time Anna was found guilty, Rachel DeLoache also released the book “My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress”. Rachel was also supposed to have a docu-series  on HBO telling her story though that project is on hold the last time I heard.

 Earlier this year the limited series Inventing Anna premiered on Netflix. Inventing Anna portrayed Rachel DeLoach Williams in a very negative light. Williams is suing Netflix for defamation. From the CBS article In the suit, Williams claims Netflix “made a deliberate decision for dramatic the snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic person,” among other things.

I watched the Netflix show myself because it was something to watch.  Most of the characters were very unlikeable especially the journalist lady who was just so desperate for a story. Rachel DeLoache Williams was also portrayed as very shallow and not very bright. The actress they chose to play Williams was older and made to look frumpy in my opinion. While I agree that it wasn’t very smart for Rachel to depend on her friend to pay for the trip to Morocco and she used her work credit card from Vanity Fair to pay the hotel bill, it doesn’t negate the fact that Anna was a con artist and that actions have consequences.

While I’m not an expert at the law, and I’m not sure whether or not Rachel has a case, I find it disturbing that this limited series is making Anna Sorokin and Rachel DeLoache Williams story into a girl boss story. Being a con artist is not something young impressionable women should look up to. Netflix also paid Sorokin $100,000.00. It also shows that many are willing to sell their souls to be rich and famous. Though there’s many of us who will reach our goals the right way by working hard and not giving up. If Rachel DeLoache Williams does have a case, I hope she succeeds in winning.