Anna Delvey’s former friend, Rachel, is suing Netflix over Inventing Anna

The former best friend, Rachel DeLoache Williams, of world-renowned scammer, Anna Delvey (real name Anna Sorokin), is suing Netflix over the portrayal of the character Rachel in the hit series, Inventing Anna.

Williams, who met Sorokin in New York whilst working on the picture desk at Vanity Fair (and quickly found herself drawn to Sorokin's flashy lifestyle and promises of opulence and travel), says she's unhappy with how "greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic" the show has depicted her to be. She is citing defamation in her suit and her legal team write: "As a result of Netflix's false portrayal of her as a vile and contemptible person, Williams was subjected to a torrent of online abuse, negative in-person interactions, and pejorative characterisations in podcasts, etc."

After being duped by Sorokin - and at one point being stuck with an enormous bill following a trip to Morocco, which she believed Sorokin would cover the cost of - Williams wrote a book about her experience, My Friend Anna. It's reported, via the BBC, that she did not cooperate with Netflix on the making of Inventing Anna.

Williams' lawsuit continues on to say that she has since suffered damage to her character and received online abuse, and raises the point that many personal real-life details about Williams were included (such as her place of work and the neighbourhood in which she resides).

"She does not challenge Netflix's right to have an unpleasant character in the Series, but if it chose to base the character on herself, and to portray the character negatively, it should have given the character a fictious [sic] name and changed the character's identifying details so that no one would believe that the character was a portrayal 'of and concerning' the real Rachel Williams.

"Netflix gave fictional names to many of the real life protagonists in the Sorokin saga who appear in the Series, but it did not afford Williams the same protection. Instead, it used her real name and personal details (such as her employer, neighborhood and alma mater) in the Series and cast an actress who resembled her in many ways."

So far, Netflix have not publicly commented on the matter.

During her 2019 trial, Sorokin was found guilty of extracting over $200,000 (£147,000) from various hotels, banks and other businesses, as well as scamming friends and associates.

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