Who is Rachel DeLoache Williams? Reporter allegedly files lawsuit against Netflix’s Inventing Anna series

While Netflix's Inventing Anna quickly gained cult viewership and popularity, Rachel DeLoache Williams, a.k.a. Anna's real friend, was not pleased.

On Monday, August 29, 2022, the former Vanity Fair employee and friend of Sorokin, filed a defamation lawsuit against the streaming giant over her portrayal in the series. According to her, Netflix gave fictional names to many characters in the series but did not do the same for Williams and her protection. They used her real name and personal details, while also casting an actress that resembled her in many ways.

Here's more about Williams' claims and the popular Netflix series.

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About Rachel DeLoache Williams

Rachel DeLoache Williams is an American writer, photographer, and editor. She previously worked as a Vanity Fair photo editor and producer and rose to prominence as a former friend of Anna Sorokin, a con artist who pretended to be a German heiress and scammed Williams out of $62,000.

Following the scam, she reported Sorokin to the New York City Police Department and the New York County District Attorney, which aided police in locating and arresting Sorokin in Los Angeles. She also testified against her in court. Rachel DeLoache Williams later wrote an article about her experiences with Sorokin for Vanity Fair in 2018, and she has since written for Time and Air Mail, in addition to writing the book My Friend Anna: the True Story of New York City's Fake Heiress.

Williams was also among the real people depicted in the true-life drama about "fake heiress" Anna Delvey, aka Anna Sorokin in Netflix's Inventing Anna.

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What did she do?

Former Vanity Fair staffer Rachel DeLoache Williams recently filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over her portrayal in the hit series, Inventing Anna. Her statement said that the series portrayed her as "a greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic person."

A lawyer for Williams told Vanity Fair:

"We don’t challenge Netflix’s right to include a lying, sponging, cowardly snob in their series, but they should have given the character a fictitious name and made sure that no one thought it was Rachel. Instead, her reputation has been devastated because viewers believed that they were watching how the real Rachel behaved."

Netflix has not responded to a request for comment.

Rachel DeLoache Williams became friends with Anna Sorokin in 2016, but was duped out of $62,000 for a six-night trip to Morocco. She testified in court in 2019 with eyes filled with tears about how she thought Sorokin would pay for all of their expenses, and how the scam and unexpected debt caused her stress and anxiety.

Williams told her side of the story in the book My Friend Anna, but she refused to cooperate with Netflix on the series. She later accused the company of doing "public relations for a con woman." Her lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, August 29, 2022, stated:

"As a result of Netflix's false portrayal of her as a vile and contemptible person, Williams was subjected to a torrent of online abuse, negative in-person interactions, and pejorative characterisations in podcasts, etc."

Katie Lowes played Rachel DeLoache Williams in the nine-part series Inventing Anna, which topped Netflix's English-language TV ratings for three weeks and was nominated for three Emmy Awards.

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About Inventing Anna

Netflix's Inventing Anna was created and produced by Shonda Rhimes. It premiered on the streaming platform on Friday, February 11, 2022 and had a total of nine episodes. The series was based on the New York magazine's article "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People" by Jessica Pressle.

The official synopsis for the mini-series reads:

"In Inventing Anna, a journalist with a lot to prove investigates the case of Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary German heiress who stole the hearts of New York’s social scene – and stole their money as well?"

The series stars Julia Garner, Anna Chlumsky, Katie Lowes, Laverne Cox, Alexis Floyd, Arian Moayed, Anders Holm, Anna Deavere Smith, Jeff Perry, Terry Kinney and Jennifer Esposito. David Frankel directed the majority of the episodes in the series.

Learn more about Rachel DeLoache Williams and her friendship with Anna Sorokin in Inventing Anna, now streaming on Netflix.