Ava DuVernay Rips Central Park 5 Prosecutor After Lawsuit Settlement, Praises Netflix For “Unwavering Support” & $1M Innocence Project Donation

Pascal Le Segretain / Atsushi Nishijima / Netflix / Patrick McMullan / Getty Images

EXCLUSIVE: Ava DuVernay had a lot to say in the Emmy-winning When They See Us about the harmed heaped on the so-called Central Park 5 and now she is speaking out about the settlement she and Netflix reached with the former prosecutor in that travesty of justice.

“After years of legal wrangling and millions of dollars spent, she walked away with no payment to her or her lawyers of any kind, rather than face cross examination before a New York jury as to her conduct and character,” the Array founder told Deadline today of the end of the four-year defamation suit that was set for trial to start on June 10. “I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys,” she bluntly said.

She added: “In the days leading up to her defamation trial, Linda Fairstein decided that she was not willing to face a jury of her peers. It’s a phenomenon that often happens with bullies. When you stand up to them, unafraid, they often take their ball and go home.”

READ AVA DUVERNAY’S FULL STATEMENT ON THE LINDA FAIRSTEIN SUIT & SETTLEMENT BELOW

In her suit for unspecified damages, an apology and more, Fairstein said that the Felicity Huffman-portrayed depiction of her made her look like a “racist, unethical villain who is determined to jail innocent children of color at any cost.” After Netflix and DuVernay were unsuccessful in getting the case dismissed, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel determined last fall that there was “clear and convincing evidence that defendants were recklessly indifferent to the truth” — hence the trial that is now not going to happen.

Now, just hours after a no-money-changing-hands deal was announced between the filmmaker, the streamer and Fairstein over the latter’s 2020 legal action, DuVernay is laying out her POV on what really went down.

Earlier Tuesday, Netflix, DuVernay and the ex-Manhattan Assistant District Attorney put out a terse statement on the resolution. “The parties announce that they have resolved this lawsuit,” it said. “Netflix will donate $1 million to the Innocence Project. Ms. Fairstein will not receive any money as part of this settlement.”

Continuing to spread some shade on 2019’s When They See Us, Fairstein put out her own statement soon afterward, saying, “The decision to conclude this fight was not an easy one.” 

Perhaps, but with a disclaimer that was already at the end of the series now moved in part to the beginning her only real takeaway, Fairstein was clearly trying to avoid a jury of her Big Apple peers with this sudden decision to settle.

With the likes of Donald Trump screaming for the death penalty, Rayomond Santana, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise were convicted by a Fairstein-led prosecution in the near-fatal 1989 rape of a woman who was jogging in Central Park.

In 2001, serial rapist and murderer Matias Reyes confessed to the attack while behind bars for another crime. Despite foot dragging by some in law enforcement to re-open the matter, Reyes’ statements were confirmed by DNA evidence and knowledge of the scene. While the Exonerated Five, as they came to be known, eventually saw their names cleared in 2014 after a long effort, Reyes was never prosecuted for the rape because the Empire State’s then statute of limitations on such sex crimes had expired.

Reinforcing a number of details that Deadline had earlier today, the statement by the Origin director DuVernay also comes just under a week before the parties was supposed to face off before a federal judge in New York.

Here is DuVernay’s full statement on Linda Fairstein’s lawsuit and today’s settlement:

Days before my legal team and I were scheduled to refute Linda Fairstein’s defamation lawsuit in front of a New York City jury, she had her husband call to pull the plug.

After years of legal wrangling and millions of dollars spent, she walked away with no payment to her or her lawyers of any kind, rather than face cross examination before a New York jury as to her conduct and character. The deal she proposed involved her receiving a cash payout, as well as having a disclaimer at the top of the series WHEN THEY SEE US on Netflix which would state that everything to do with her in the show was fabricated. We refused both. She also wanted an agreement that my co-writer Attica Locke and I would not talk about her in the future, and in turn, she wouldn’t talk about us. I agreed to keep her loss quiet as long as she would also agree not to talk about the Exonerated Five ever again. She refused this, and instead opted for no agreement regarding confidentiality at all. Her desire to continue to push her narrative of guilt about the Exonerated Five, and not accept an agreement of silence, allows me to share what I feel about her claims for the first time.

I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys. As the head of the Manhattan Sex Crimes unit, Linda Fairstein was in the precinct for over 35 hours straight while the boys were interrogated as adults, often without parents present. Linda Fairstein knew what was going on inside those interrogation rooms and controlled who entered, blocking one of the mothers from being with her 15 year old son. Linda Fairstein is the woman whose boss, legendary NY District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, entrusted with the case, later telling The NY Times that “his trust in her was misplaced” and that she disappointed him. Linda Fairstein to this day maintains that the Exonerated Five are guilty despite the fact that DNA evidence never matched any of the boys, but perfectly matched a convicted serial rapist who admitted his guilt and who always acted alone.

Throughout this legal ordeal that she instigated, Linda Fairstein painted herself as the victim, as someone who has been wronged by our storytelling in WHEN THEY SEE US. She has suggested that the false story she tells about these wrongfully incarcerated men is the only right one, and that their experiences are not worth being heard or believed. She claimed that the series resulted in the loss of her publishing contract and other positions of power she’d held. WHEN THEY SEE US did not get Linda Fairstein cancelled. Linda Fairstein’s own actions and words are responsible for everything that she is experiencing. In the days leading up to her defamation trial, Linda Fairstein decided that she was not willing to face a jury of her peers. It’s a phenomenon that often happens with bullies. When you stand up to them, unafraid, they often take their ball and go home.

I hope that one day Linda Fairstein can come to terms with the part she played in this  miscarriage of justice and finally accept responsibility. In the meantime, I thank Netflix for  its unwavering support of artists, of this project and for its generous $1 million donation  to the Innocence Project, benefitting the wrongfully incarcerated. I continue to believe,  respect and salute Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Councilman Yusef Salaam, who represents their beloved New York City’s 9th district,  Harlem.