A judge has taken under submission a motion by Netflix attorneys to dismiss on free-speech grounds a lawsuit brought by a sexual wellness company concerning a documentary that claimed an employee of the plaintiff was raped and beaten.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly Fujie heard arguments Friday before taking the defamation case filed by OneTaste Inc. against the streaming giant under submission. OneTaste maintains claims the allegations aired in “Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste” in 2022 by several former members are untrue.
“This complaint arises from the final 15 minutes or so of the film before the end credits, which contain the false statements of fact that OneTaste condones violence against women and that a woman was raped and beaten in connection with her employment at OneTaste and participation in its classes and events,” the suit filed last Nov. 3 states.
In addition to the aired allegations being” presumptively injurious,” OneTaste has suffered and continues to suffer actual damages on an ongoing basis because the film is the most widely disseminated information publicly available about OneTaste, according to the suit, which further states that the company believes the film’s allegedly defamatory statements “have deterred and will continue to deter people from participating in OneTaste’s classes.”
But in an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion filed March 4, Netflix lawyers maintain the complaint violates Netflix’s First Amendment rights.
“The suit is part of a coordinated legal and publicity campaign attempting to salvage the reputation of the self-described wellness education company after years of critical reporting on its practices,” the motion states. “The anti-SLAPP statute was passed to stop lawsuits exactly like this one, which seeks to chill important speech.”
The state’s anti-SLAPP law is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
Netflix first aired the film five months before founder Nicole Daedone, 56, and Rachel Cherwitz, 43, were indicted for allegedly forcing women into sex acts, allegations they deny.
None of the allegedly defamatory statements are actionable because they are opinion and OneTaste has provided no factual allegations or any evidence that any of the statements are false or that Netflix had “subjective belief in their falsity,” the anti-SLAPP motion further states.
The documentary includes primary-source archival material spanning more than a decade, providing an inside look at OneTaste’s philosophy and teachings, its charismatic founder Daedone and statements by her and others minimizing sexual violence, according to the anti-SLAPP motion.
The filmmakers incorporated comments from OneTaste into the documentary, according to the motion.
“Indeed, the production reached out repeatedly to OneTaste over multiple years seeking an interview for the documentary,” the anti-SLAPP motion states.