A Kentucky respiratory therapist is suing Netflix for $1 million after the streaming giant used a photo of him in a documentary about a convicted murderer with whom he has no connection.
Taylor Hazlewood, 27, says Netflix portrayed him in a “sinister and slanderous light” after he twice used a photo of him posing with an ax in the documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, even though he wasn’t involved.
The new show tells the story of Caleb “Kai” McGillvary who went from viral sensation to convicted murderer in a year. Speaking to a local TV station in 2013, the 34-year-old famously mimicked hitting a man on the head with an ax to prevent a woman from being attacked.
But three months later, he was arrested for the murder of a New Jersey lawyer in a separate incident in California. He claimed he acted in self-defense, but was convicted of first-degree murder.
Hazlewood’s suit states that during the show his image is shown as the narrator asks if he is a “stone cold” killer. It says Netflix appropriated his likeness in an act of “sheer recklessness,” according to the suit filed Monday in a Dallas County court.
Taylor Hazlewood, 27, of Kentucky, is suing Netflix for using a photo of him wielding an ax in The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker documentary, even though he was not involved
A photo of him with a hatcher (far right) was used in the documentary as a narrator asked if he was a “stone cold killer”
Caleb ‘Kai’ McGillvary became a viral sensation after giving a casual interview explaining how he used an ax to save a woman from a deadly attack
“Hazlewood is, of course, beyond angry that Netflix would implicate and associate him with such a lecherous and infamous story and individual,” the lawsuit obtained by the Washington Post say.
McGillvary, 34, rose to fame after he gave a viral interview explaining how he saved a woman from a fatal attack in February 2013.
He was hitchhiking through Fresno, California, when the man who was giving him a ride, Jett McBride, drove his car into a utility company.
McBride then attacked the worker and a woman who had tried to intervene.
McGillvary claimed he took an ax from his bag and repeatedly hit McBride in the head to stop him.
McBride was later convicted of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
While explaining his part in the incident, McGillvary, wearing a headscarf over his disheveled hair, began his interview with KMPH by saying that ‘whatever you’ve done deserves your respect. Even if you make mistakes, you’re sweet.”
He memorably showed the interviewer how he had hit McBride on the head and described 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 in a separate incident
The video went viral overnight and has since been viewed over 8 million times.
Canadian-born McGillvary soon appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
But three months later, he was arrested and charged with murdering New Jersey attorney Joseph Galfy.
McGillvary claimed he acted in self-defense, saying Joseph drugged and raped him after offering him a place to stay.
But prosecutors argued at trial that his version of events had changed numerous times and that injuries to Joseph’s body — he suffered 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.
Near the end of the Netflix documentary, a photo of Hazlewood appears holding an ax as 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 associate him with such a lecherous and notorious story and individual”
It claims that using his image “gives Hazlewood a constant fear of losing future jobs or relationships because people think he’s dangerous or untrustworthy.”
McGillvary became a social media sensation, but was convicted of murder a year later
The lawsuit filed by Hazlewood claims the photo was taken in June 2019 after seeing a friend’s axe, which reminded him of his favorite childhood book, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen.
Hazlewood held onto it and posed for a picture, which he posted to Instagram.
More than three and a half years later, Netflix released its documentary and texts began pouring in on Hazlewood’s phone, the lawsuit says.
A friend from Hawaii said, ‘Dude, this is so weird, but I’m watching this murder documentary and they start flashing some pictures of people and I said that’s Hazlewood. Did they steal your picture? How did you get there?’
Another texted from Virginia, “Why are you on Netflix?”
And a former co-worker who lives in Ohio messaged him, “They posted your picture with a killer lol.”
The lawsuit says the documentary tarnished Hazlewood’s reputation, adding, “The use causes Hazlewood to have a constant fear of losing future jobs or relationships because people think he’s dangerous or unreliable.”
McGillvary is also suing Netflix for $3 million in a separate case accusing the documentary of “ruthlessly exploiting a hero’s life story for money,” according to the Fresno bee. It’s still working its way through the U.S. District Court of Central California.
Netflix declined to comment.