Satanists settle lawsuit with Netflix over goat-headed statue

Satanists settle lawsuit with Netflix over goat-headed statue

A group of Satanists that sued Netflix for $50 million for allegedly copying the image of its goat-headed deity has “amicably settled” its lawsuit with the video streaming giant.

The Satanic Temple organization claimed Netflix and Warner Bros. had copied the image of Baphomet — a winged, half-man, half-goat figure that has been worshiped by various occult groups — in its program “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”

A reproduction of the figure appeared in four episodes of the show without the group’s permission, the group claimed.

But the group’s leader said the suit has now been settled, and that “the unique elements of the Satanic Temple’s Baphomet statue” will be acknowledged in the credits of the show’s episodes.

“The Satanic Temple is pleased to announce that the lawsuit it recently filed against Warner Bros. and Netflix has been amicably settled,” Lucien Greaves wrote in a statement.

“Many people immediately supported our copyright claim,” Greaves wrote. “However, there were also a large number of people who flooded us with hate mail and armchair legal analysis.”

Details of the settlement, including whether it involved financial compensation, were not disclosed in the statement, and neither Netflix nor Warner Bros. immediately responded to CNN’s request for comment.

“The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is a fantasy drama starring Kiernan Shipka as a teenager from a family of witches.

— Lucien Greaves (@LucienGreaves) October 29, 2018

Greaves was particularly pained by the show’s depiction of the monument, writing on Twitter that it was “appropriating our copyrighted monument design to promote their asinine Satanic Panic fiction.”

He suggested the group was being discriminated against, adding: “I’m amazed that anybody is confused as to why we would seek legal remedy over Sabrina using our monument. Would they be as understanding of a fictional show that used a real mosque as the HQ of a terrorist cell? A fictional Blood Libel tale implicating real world Jews?”

The Satanic Temple is a group, headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts, that says its mission is “to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people.” Members do not worship Satan, the group says.

The figure of Baphomet was associated with the 12th-century Catholic military order the Knights Templar and has since been worshiped by occultists including Aleister Crowley.

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Netflix Warner Bros. Aleister Crowley Baphomet Lucien Greaves The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

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