VETERAN Hollywood actress Dame Olivia de Havilland is suing a television network over a hit docudrama.
Dame Olivia, aged 101, is furious about the way she is portrayed in Feud: Bette And Joan, about the rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
She claims the show wrongly depicts her as a vulgar gossip.
“The creators of Feud used my identity without my consent and put false words in my mouth,” she said.
Dame Olivia, the last great star from the 1930s, has broken her silence from France, where she has lived in virtual seclusion since 1954.
She has filed a lawsuit over last year’s Emmy-nominated drama, in which she is played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Her case against the FX network and Ryan Murphy Productions opens in a Los Angeles court tomorrow.
Dame Olivia claims Feud’s makers misappropriated her name, likeness and identity without her permission and used them falsely to exploit their own commercial interests, inflicting emotional harm and sullying her reputation.
In response, FX has cited the US constitutional right to free speech in relation to a public issue.
The Motion Picture Association of America and Netflix, which has signed a producing deal with Murphy reportedly worth $300m, have asked the court to throw the case out.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe