A respiratory therapist from Kentucky is suing Netflix for $1million after the streaming giant used a photo of him in a documentary about a convicted killer to whom he has no connection.
Taylor Hazlewood, 27, says Netflix depicted him in a ‘sinister and defamatory light’ after twice using a picture of him posing with a hatchet in its documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker even though he was not involved.
The new show tells the story of Caleb ‘Kai’ McGillvary who went from viral sensation to convicted killer in the space of a year. The 34-year-old spoke to a local TV station in 2013, famously re-enacting how he had smashed a man over the head with a hatchet to save a woman from being attacked.
But three months later he was arrested over the killing of a New Jersey attorney in a separate incident in California. He claimed he was acting in self-defense but was convicted of first-degree murder.
Hazlewood’s suit states that during the show his image is shown while the narrator asks if he is a ‘stone-cold’ killer. It says Netflix misappropriated his likeness in an act of ‘pure recklessness’, according to the suit filed in a Dallas County court Monday.
Taylor Hazlewood, 27, from Kentucky, is suing Netflix for using a picture of him holding a hatchet in its documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker even though he was not involved
A picture of him holding a hatcher (far right) was used in the documentary while a narrator asked if he was a ‘stone-cold killer’
Caleb ‘Kai’ McGillvary became a viral sensation after giving a nonchalant interview explaining how he used a hatchet to save a woman from a deadly attack
‘Hazlewood is, of course, beyond angry that Netflix would implicate and connect him to such a salacious and infamous story and individual,’ the suit obtained by the Washington Post says.
McGillvary, 34, was catapulted to fame after he gave a viral interview explaining how he had saved a woman from a deadly attack in February 2013.
He had been hitchhiking through Fresno, California when the man who was giving him a lift, Jett McBride, crashed his car into a utility worker.
McBride then attacked the worker and a woman who had tried to step in.
McGillvary claimed he took a hatchet from his bag and smashed McBride in the head repeatedly to stop him.
McBride was later convicted of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Explaining his part in the incident, McGillvary, wearing a headscarf over his bedraggled hair, began his interview with KMPH by saying that ‘no matter what you done, you deserve respect. Even if you make mistakes, you loveable’.
He memorably showed the interviewer how he had struck McBride over the head, describing the blows with the words: ‘Smash, smash, smash.’
The hitchhiker, McGillvary, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel after going viral
McGillvary on Kimmel. His reputation as a hero was short-lived after he was arrested for murder three months later following a separate incident
The video went viral overnight and has been viewed more than 8 million times since.
Canada-born McGillvary soon appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
But three months later he was arrested and accused of killing New Jersey attorney Joseph Galfy.
McGillvary claimed he was acting in self-defense, saying Joseph had drugged and raped him after offering him a place to stay.
But prosecutors argued during the trial that his version of events changed numerous times and that injuries on Joseph’s body – he suffered from three skill fractures and four broken ribs – were too severe for self-defense.
McGillvary was convicted of first-degree murder in 2019 and sentenced to 57 years.
Towards the end of the Netflix documentary, a photo of Hazlewood holding a hatchet appears while the narrator asks: ‘Is this a guardian angel or a stone-cold killer?’
The lawsuit says Hazlewood is ‘beyond angry that Netflix would implicate and connect him to such a salacious and infamous story and individual’
It claims the use of his image ’causes Hazlewood a constant fear of losing future employment or relationships because of people believing he is dangerous or untrustworthy’
McGillvary became a social media sensation but was convicted of murder just a year later
The lawsuit filed by Hazlewood claims the photo was taken in June 2019 after he spotted a friend’s hatchet, which reminded him of his favorite childhood book, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen.
Hazlewood held it and posed for a photo, which he posted to Instagram.
More than three and a half years later, Netflix released its documentary and texts started pouring in on Hazlewood’s phone, the lawsuit states.
A friend from Hawaii said: ‘Dude this is so weird but im watching this murder documentary and they start flashing a bunch of peoples pictures and I said that is Hazlewood. Did they steal your photo? How did you get on there?’
Another texted from Virginia: ‘Why are you on Netflix?’
And a former co-worker living in Ohio messaged him: ‘They put your picture up with a murderer lol.’
The lawsuit states the documentary has tarnished Hazlewood’s reputation, adding: ‘The use causes Hazlewood a constant fear of losing future employment or relationships because of people believing he is dangerous or untrustworthy.’
McGillvary is also suing Netflix for $3million in a separate case that accuses the documentary of ‘ruthlessly exploiting a hero’s life story for money’, according to the Fresno Bee. It is still working its way through the US District Court of Central California.
Netflix declined to comment.
