20 Documentaries That Led to Huge Lawsuits

20 Documentaries That Led to Huge Lawsuits

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re discussing the major documentaries that got people sued.

An “Elite” Water Polo Player

“Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal” (2021)

Many of you probably remember this scandal from 2019. A whole bunch of rich people, including a few celebrities, were exposed for paying bribes to get their kids into top universities. One of them was former Old Navy and Staples executive John Wilson, who allegedly paid over $1 million to inflate his three kids’ athletic achievements. Wilson was convicted along with the other parents, but his conviction was overturned on appeal due to mistakes made by the original judge. After “Operation Varsity Blues” was released in 2021, Wilson and his son, John Jr., both filed defamation lawsuits against Netflix, claiming the kid really was an elite water polo player. We’re not sure how they intend to prove that in court.

Emotional Distress

“Making a Murderer” (2015-18)

This was one of Netflix’s earliest successes in the true crime genre, and it was a smash hit. The documentary strongly pushed the theory that Manitowoc County, Wisconsin man Steven Avery had been wrongfully convicted of murder. After its release, former Manitowoc County police officer Andrew Colborn sued Netflix, the series’ producers, and their production company for defamation, emotional distress, and negligence. Colburn claimed that the series led viewers to believe that he and other cops had planted evidence and implied improper conduct. He pointed to things like music and editing techniques that painted him in a bad light. Colburn lost that case, with the judge ruling that most of his complaints were nowhere near the legal definition of defamation.

A Conniving Business Woman

“CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story” (2013)

This was technically a scripted biopic, but it was pretty iconic, and it did lead to a massive lawsuit. The VH1 film depicted hip hop group TLC’s manager, Perri “Pebbles” Reid, as the villain of the story. Reid, in turn, sued its parent company Viacom for $40 million, alleging that the biopic made her out to be “a conniving and dishonest business woman” who exploited three young girls. Viacom tried to have the suit dismissed, arguing that all biopics take artistic liberties in their portrayals. A judge disagreed, and the two parties ended up settling out of court.

Footage Permission

“Tiger King” (2020-21)

If you know anything about this show, it won’t surprise you to hear that Carole Baskin wasn’t too happy with how she was portrayed in it. Through clever editing, the creators heavily implied that she murdered her husband. After season 2 of “Tiger King” was announced, Baskin and her current husband sued Netflix and Royal Goode Productions for breach of contract. They argued that the producers didn’t have the right to create a sequel season or anything else using the footage and interviews they originally filmed of Carole. Baskin was trying to prevent season 2 from being released at all. But of course, if you’ve been following the saga, you already know that she failed.

Who Owns the Story

“The Thin Blue Line” (1988)

This early true crime doc actually resulted in an innocent man being freed from prison. Randall Dale Adams was convicted for shooting a cop in 1977. After investigating his case, filmmaker Errol Morris believed that several witnesses had lied on the stand, and he even obtained a confession from another suspect. Adams’ conviction was overturned and he was released. You’d think he’d be grateful. Instead, he sued Errol Morris. Adams didn’t want money – he just wanted the rights back to his life story. He’d signed them over to Morris while the documentary was in progress. You can hardly blame him: He got no compensation from the state of Texas for the 12 years he spent wrongfully imprisoned. His story was all he had.

Manipulated Footage

“Under the Gun” (2016)

It took just nine seconds of this documentary to cause a lawsuit. “Under the Gun” was narrated by Katie Couric and explored the gun control debate in America. After its release, pro-gun rights group the Virginia Citizens Defense League sued Couric and the filmmakers for defamation. They claimed that footage of the group’s members was edited deceptively to make them look bad. In one scene, after Couric asks them how dangerous people would be prevented from buying a gun without background checks, the film cuts to nine seconds of the members sitting silently, avoiding eye contact. In reality, they say they answered Couric’s question right away. The suit was dismissed, but it’s a lesson for the viewers: Documentaries are always edited to present a narrative.

Lawsuit Leads to New Documentary

“Bananas!*” (2009)

Swedish director Fredrik Gertten released this film in 2009 about a lawsuit filed by workers on a Dole banana plantation in Nicaragua who allegedly suffered health problems caused by a pesticide. After the doc was screened at a film festival, Dole sued for, you guessed it, defamation. The company ultimately dropped the lawsuit just a few months later, and a court ordered them to pay the filmmakers’ legal fees. But the most bananas part of this story is that in 2011, Gertten released a second documentary called “Big Boys Gone Bananas!*” all about how he got sued by Dole.

Overzealous Students Got Him Wrongfully Convicted

“A Murder in the Park” (2014)

A group of undergraduate journalism students freed a possibly guilty man from prison and accidentally sent an innocent man there in his place. In 1983, Anthony Porter was convicted of two murders in Chicago’s Washington Park. Northwestern University Professor David Protess and some students supposedly proved that Porter wasn’t guilty, and got him released in 1999. The group believed a man named Alstory Simon was the actual killer. They hired a private investigator to help them coerce Simon into a false confession, which got him convicted. “A Murder in the Park” explores what happened, and it played a role in getting Simon’s case reopened. Simon was released in 2014 and almost immediately filed a $40 million lawsuit against Professor Protess and Northwestern University.

Exposed to the Taliban

“Retrograde” (2022)

This powerful film documents the final months of the United States’ two-decade-long war in Afghanistan. It closely follows a number of individual American troops, as well as Afghan soldiers working alongside them. Before its release, multiple members of the U.S. military warned that revealing too much information about the Afghans and showing their faces would put them at risk. They were right. Now that the Taliban once again controls the country, a number of the Afghani people featured in the doc have gone into hiding. One, a 25-year-old minesweeper named Omar Khan, was found by the Taliban, tortured, and released, but he later died from his injuries. His widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against National Geographic, Disney, and Hulu.

Out of Context

“Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model” (2026)

Remember what we learned from the Katie Couric lawsuit? Documentaries are always edited to create a tidy narrative, even though reality is rarely so cut and dry. Tyra Banks claims she was interviewed for the “AMNT” doc for three and a half hours. But only 16 minutes of that interview made it into the series. Banks says the footage was manipulated and taken out of context to portray her in an inaccurate and false light. She filed a lawsuit against Netflix and the doc’s producers in June 2026. You might assume she’s asking for a lot of money, but she’s leaving her fate to the people. Banks requested a jury trial to determine how much she should receive in damages.

Backfiring Lawsuit

“The Carter” (2009)

The 2009 documentary “The Carter” was about the life of Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known as Lil Wayne, in the lead-up to releasing his 2008 album “The Carter III.” Reportedly, Wayne was delighted with the final cut. However, upon its second screening at the 25th Sundance Film Festival, the rapper initiated a $50 million lawsuit against its release. Wayne claimed “The Carter” contained footage that he was promised would be removed. However, the judge threw the suit out. Regardless, “The Carter” had to resort to coming out on iTunes and DVD. In 2012, after further lawsuits between Wayne and the film's producer Quincy Jones III, the rapper went viral with his deposition. He lost the case and had to pay Jones nearly $2.2 million.

Irreparably Harmed Reputation

“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” (2024)

After years of rumors, in 2024, the documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” shone a spotlight on the murky world of Nickelodeon. One of the production’s main subjects was the explosive allegations against former children’s TV creator Dan Schneider, who was accused of fostering a toxic work environment and misconduct against children. In the aftermath, Schneider issued a lawsuit against the show’s producers, claiming it “irreparably harmed” his reputation. While he apologized for his on-set behavior, the TV writer denied the allegations he knew of or participated in any abuse of the underage stars, which he believed the series implied. In November 2024, the lawsuit was given the go-ahead by a judge to proceed.

Outtake Outrage

“Crude” (2009)

Produced and directed by Joe Berlinger, 2009’s “Crude” detailed the lawsuit issued by Ecuadorians residing in the Amazon Rainforest against the oil and gas company, the Chevron Corporation. The residents believed the company had polluted their land. After Judge Lewis Kaplan allowed Chevron access to the outtakes following a lawsuit against the creators, it found footage of lawyer Steven Donziger discussing unsavory tactics to beat the company in court. After the oil firm lost the original lawsuit and had to pay nearly $19 billion, in 2014, Kaplan ruled against the previous judgment by citing fraud from the Ecuadorians’ U.S. lawyers, as seen in the outtakes. Kaplan also controversially ruled that Donziger had committed fraud. The lawyer was later disbarred.

The Double Suit

“Tabloid” (2011)

In what is sometimes known as the “Manacled Mormon case,” in 1977, Joyce McKinney was accused by Mormon missionary Kirk Anderson of abducting and abusing him in England over several days. Weirdly, she became a sort of celebrity for a time. In 2010, “Tabloid” was released, which examined the case and the newspapers’ fascination with McKinney. In 2011, she issued a lawsuit against the director, Errol Morris, stating she was misled about the film’s intention and that he defamed her. Morris won the case. However, McKinney wasn’t done, as she issued another suit in 2016. Along with similar claims, she also accused Morris of breaking into her home and stealing, as well as threatening to harm her service dog. This case was thrown out.

Serious Accusation

“The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey” (2016)

In 1996, child pageant star JonBenét Ramsey was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado. While the case has gripped the U.S. and led to many theories, no one has been sentenced for the crime. The family has denied being involved for decades. In 2016, CBS released the docuseries “The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey,” which examined the case and speculated who could’ve been responsible. JonBenét’s brother, Burke Ramsey, soon issued lawsuits against CBS, forensic pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz, and others for defamation as he was accused of the crime. Altogether, he was requesting $250 million in compensatory damages and no less than $500 million in punitive damages. In 2019, the case was settled out of court.

Investors Misled

“Blackfish” (2013)

In 2013, the landscape of SeaWorld was changed forever upon the release of “Blackfish.” Focusing on the captivity of Tilikum, an orca which had taken 3 human lives, and how orcas are treated by the company, many people were disgusted at the allegations. In 2014, investors issued a lawsuit against SeaWorld for misleading them. They alleged that the company had lied about the negative impact the documentary had had on its revenue as people stopped visiting the parks and had artificially inflated share prices. In 2020, a judge agreed to a $65 million settlement. This was on top of a $5 million 2018 judgment against SeaWorld and its former CEO, James Atchison, on similar federal charges.

The Non-Disparagement Clause

“Leaving Neverland” (2019)

After Michael Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005, speculation about the nature of his relationships with children tainted his reputation. In 2019, the creators of “Leaving Neverland” wanted to examine the experiences of two alleged victims. However, shortly after the film premiered at Sundance, Jackson’s estate issued a lawsuit against HBO for ignoring a non-disparagement clause. The group claimed that when the broadcaster signed a deal to show one of Jackson’s concerts in 1992, there was a clause stating HBO couldn’t make disparaging remarks about the singer or those tied to him. As such, the estate demanded over $100 million. In 2020, after appealing, HBO was ordered to go to arbitration with Jackson’s estate but both sides agreed to dismiss in 2024.9

Battling the Broadcaster

“The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception” (1982)

In 1982, the docuseries “CBS Reports” released the episode “The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception.” It detailed allegations that General William Westmoreland had manipulated intelligence reports that there were fewer communists in South Vietnam in 1967, which the U.S. was at war with at the time. This figure editing would then give the impression to the States that the country’s invasion was successful when it actually wasn’t. As a result, Westmoreland issued a $120 million lawsuit for defamation against CBS and the episode’s producers. In 1985, the trial got underway. However, believing the jury was seemingly siding with CBS, Westmoreland settled the case out of court before a verdict was reached.

Jumping to Conclusions

“Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy” (2025)

Sean Combs is currently enjoying the hospitality of the federal prison system after being convicted of transporting sex workers. In 2025, NBC, through its Peacock streaming service, released the documentary film “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,” which explored several allegations, including those that he was responsible for the deaths of various people, such as Kim Porter. In response, Combs filed a lawsuit against the broadcaster. He claimed the documentary “maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion” about Diddy’s alleged criminal exploits. As such, he believed the film caused economic harm to him, resulting in him demanding $100 million in damages. The suit was dismissed.

Defamation Claims

“Chris Brown: A History of Violence” (2024)

Allegations of abuse made against high-profile figures are unfortunately destined to cause a media frenzy, and Chris Brown’s legal situation is no different. Over the years, there have been various claims of Brown’s violent behavior, to varying degrees of public knowledge. An investigative 2024 documentary outlined these cases, to the obvious detriment to Brown’s image. In response, Brown filed a defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery for $500 million. His team claims that the accounts at the heart of the documentary are false, despite the numerous allegations to the contrary.

Do you think these lawsuits were justified? Let us know in the comments below.