Netflix sued over Afflicted documentary for portraying subjects as ‘lazy, crazy hypochondriacs’

The plaintiffs allege that the show used ‘deceptive and unethical tricks’ to suggest that their illnesses were ‘all in their heads’​

Netflix is being sued by the subjects of its Afflicted documentary series for defamation, fraud and invasion of privacy.

The 2018 show revolved around people with chronic illnesses, and Netflix has been accused of portraying its subjects as “lazy, crazy, hypochondriacs and/or malingerers who were deserving of scorn”.

In a 50-page complaint filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday, defendants Jamison Hill, Pilar Olave, Jill Edelstein and Bekah Dinnerstein, referred to as “the Afflicted Four”, claim they were “duped by Defendants into participating in a salacious reality television program that questioned the existence of their chronic illnesses”.

The suit also argues that the show “portrayed Plaintiffs as lazy, crazy, hypochondriacs and/or malingerers who were deserving of scorn and who in fact have received scorn and abuse because of Defendants’ cruel and duplicitous actions”.

Afflicted’s subjects allege that the show’s producers pitched the series to them as a Netflix documentary that would help raise awareness of “rare, but very real” chronic illnesses.

The suit also claims the subjects were reassured that “Afflicted would be a serious Netflix documentary, with science and interviews with experts in the field and that Afflicted would show the Afflicted Four’s lives and struggles with their illnesses through a ‘compassionate lens’”.

Instead, they allege, the show used “deceptive and unethical tricks to suggest that the Afflicted Four’s illnesses, which are documented by mainstream medical professionals, are ‘all in their heads’”.