Satanists sue Netflix for US$50 million over use of goat-headed deity Baphomet in ‘Sabrina’
- The Satanic Temple accuses Netflix of copyright infringement and damaging its reputation
The Satanic Temple sued Netflix Inc and Warner Bros Entertainment on Thursday, seeking more than US$50 million for their alleged unauthorised use of a statue of the goat-headed deity Baphomet in the series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
In a complaint filed with the US District Court, the plaintiff, whose stated mission includes encouraging benevolence and empathy among people rejecting tyrannical authority, accused the defendants of copyright infringement, trademark violations and injury to its reputation.
Netflix referred a request for comment to Warner Bros, a unit of AT&T Inc. Warner Bros spokesman Paul McGuire said that company does not discuss pending litigation.
According to the complaint, Netflix, which distributes Sabrina, and Warner Bros, which produces it, misappropriated the Salem, Massachusetts-based plaintiff’s “Baphomet with Children” in ways implying that it “stands for evil.”
The Satanic Temple, whose formal name is United Federation of Churches LLC, said the statue has appeared in at least four of the first 10 Sabrina episodes, which were released on October 26, and was a “key element” of the season finale.