A Kentucky resident is allegedly suing Netflix after discovering that a true-crime documentary used his photo without his consent.
Before a friend contacted him to say they had seen his picture on The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, Taylor Hazelwood said he was entirely ignorant of the show.
The harrowing documentary chronicles a cheery Caleb ‘Kai’ McGillvary’s rise to internet fame and the precipitous decline that led to his incarceration.
Using his hatchet, McGillvary managed Jett McBride, who had given him a ride before stabbing a utility worker.
Hazlewood was seen brandishing a hatchet in the image, which was stolen from his Instagram account. Is this a guardian angel or a stone-cold killer? is what the streaming juggernaut allegedly used without his consent.
According to The Washington Post, his lawyer Angela Buchanan claimed that Hazlewood had ‘no connection whatsoever to the people or events depicted in the film’ and ‘never sought or did anything to attract attention for the McGillvary story.’
He is seeking more than $1million (£803,990) in damages.
‘Hazlewood is, of course, beyond angry that Netflix would implicate and connect him to such a salacious and infamous story and individual,’ Buchanan stated.
‘Hazlewood’s reputation has clearly been tarnished. There are many acquaintances who will see Hazelwood’s photograph in the Film and will assume the worst without contacting Hazelwood to get the truth.’
According to Insider, Netflix utilised the image of him wielding the hatchet to present him in a “sinister and defamatory light,” which was a parody of his favourite childhood novel, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker is available to stream on Netflix.