Satanic Temple says it’s near settlement in Netflix WB ‘Sabrina’ lawsuit

Netflix/AP Photo/Hannah
Grabenstein/INSIDER

• On Friday, a spokesperson for The Satanic Temple told
  Business Insider that it was in the “process of finalizing
  an amicable settlement with Warner Bros. now” in its lawsuit over
  the Netflix “Sabrina” reboot.
• The Temple sued Warner Bros. and Netflix for $50 million
  earlier this month, claiming that “Chilling Adventures of
  Sabrina” copied its statue of the goat-headed deity, Baphomet
  with Children.

 

The Satanic Temple on Friday said it’s nearing a settlement in a
lawsuit against Netflix and Warner Bros. that developed over a
goat-headed statue featured prominently in the “Sabrina” reboot.

Last week, the Temple filed the lawsuit in New York that alleged
the new Netflix series, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,”
copied its statue of the deity
Baphomet and implied it was evil.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the Temple told Business Insider
that it was in “the process of finalizing an amicable
settlement with Warner Bros. now.” The Temple did not comment on
the terms of the settlement. Warner Bros. did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Temple had sued Netflix and Warner Bros. for $50
million and accused the companies of “copyright infringement,
false designation of original, false description; and forbidden
dilution under trademark dilution, and Injury to Business
reputation under New York General Business Law.”

In the suit, the Temple argues that “Chilling Adventures of
Sabrina” copied its specific iteration of the Baphomet with
Children statue, which it created from 2013 to 2014 for $100,000
in response to a statue of the Ten Commandments being donated to
Oklahoma City.

The lawsuit cites an interview with
Vice in which “Sabrina” production designer Lisa
Soper said that any resemblance between the show’s statue and the
Temple’s statue is a coincidence. But the Temple argues that
“Baphomet has never been depicted with two children gazing
reverentially at the Sabbatic Goat head” like its statue depicts
the deity.

The Temple says in its lawsuit that it views Satan as a
“literary Satan,” “meant to be a rebel against God’s authority,
rather than an evil being.” And it stresses the show’s
implication that the statue stands for evil is in “stark
contrast” to that view.

“Among other morally repugnant actions, the Sabrina Series’
evil antagonists engage in cannibalism and forced-worship of a
patriarchal deity,” the lawsuit says.

Below is a comparison provided in the lawsuit:

Satanic Temple’s Baphomet with Children Statue

Satanic
Temple

‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ statue

Satanic Temple/Netflix
screenshot