Netflix sued for defamation by former Vanity Fare photo editor in 'Inventing Anna'

Former Vanity Fair photo editor Rachel DeLoache Williams has sued streaming service Netflix over her portrayal in the hit series, Inventing Anna.

Williams was among the real people depicted in the true-life drama about "fake heiress" Anna Delvey, also known as Anna Sorokin.

The lawsuit states that Williams was defamed as the series showed her as "a greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative, and opportunistic person".

Williams and Sorokin became friends in 2016, but their friendship began falling apart following an extravagant six-night trip they took to Morocco, which left Williams with a 62,000 US dollar bill.

In the lawsuit, Williams says as a result of Netflix's false portrayal of her, she was subjected to a torrent of online abuse, negative in-person interactions, and slanderous characterisations across various media.

The nine-part series, Inventing Anna, topped Netflix's English-language TV ratings for three weeks and was nominated for three Emmy Awards.