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Jerry West demands retraction from Winning Time over "cruel" and "deliberately false" portrayal

posted 2 years ago by TMC-4 (19571)
8 replies | jump to latest

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-04-19/jerry-west-demands-retraction-of-his-portayal-in-winning-time-lakers-hbo-series

The NBA icon and Los Angeles Lakers legend, via his attorneys, is calling for a retraction and apology within two weeks from today for his portrayal on the HBO series. Played by Australian actor Jason Clarke, Winning Time's West is a hot-tempered, foul-mouthed executive given to furious tantrums and mood swings. In a letter sent to HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, and executive producer Adam McKay, West’s attorneys said Winning Time “falsely and cruelly portrays Mr. West as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic. The Jerry West in Winning Time bears no resemblance to the real man. The real Jerry West prided himself on treating people with dignity and respect. ‘Winning Time’ is a baseless and malicious assault on Jerry West’s character. You reduced the legacy of an 83-year old legend and role model to that of a vulgar and unprofessional bully — the polar opposite of the real man.” The letter also accuses Winning Time of damaging the Showtime Lakers' legacy. “Unfortunately, your false portrayal of the Lakers in your show has caused harm to the reputation of the Lakers organization and its people," said the letter. "Some of the individuals portrayed have passed away and are unable to defend themselves. For others, it has tarnished their reputations and shown them in a damaging false light...You took a happy and super successful Lakers era and turned it into a pulpy soap opera. You depicted the people in a false light, not at all who they are, to garner ratings and make money.” West's portrayal has been widely criticized. Longtime NBA journalist Marc Stein called the portrayal "viciously inaccurate." Longtime Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan recently said, "If I were Jerry West, I would say call my lawyers. I don’t know what Jerry West ever did to (series director) Adam McKay to be portrayed in such an unflattering light, an unrealistic light, an embarrassing light, and that’s just for openers.” And Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in a blistering Substack post published this morning, wrote: "It’s a shame the way they treat Jerry West, who has openly discussed his struggle with mental health, especially depression. Instead of exploring his issues with compassion as a way to better understand the man, they turn him into a Wile E. Coyote cartoon to be laughed at. He never broke golf clubs, he didn’t throw his trophy through the window. Sure, those actions make dramatic moments, but they reek of facile exploitation of the man rather than exploration of character."

[–] enriquesingh (1781) 2 years ago

I had huge expectations for this show... watched the first episode when it premiered and felt it was a parody-satire... I don't understand how it has such a high rating.

[–] JFZ (1459) 9 months ago

It gets much better.

[–] TMC-4 (19571) 2 years ago

Could Jerry West successfully sue Winning Time for defamation even with its "This series is a dramatization" disclaimer?

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/if-jerry-west-sued-winning-time-legal-case-may-face-uphill-battle-1235134802/

Every episode of HBO's Showtime Lakers series features the following disclaimer: “This series is a dramatization of certain facts and events. Some of the names have been changed and some of the events and characters have been fictionalized, modified or composited for dramatic purposes.” So can West, who has accused Winning Time of defaming his character, successfully sue over his depiction? Netflix's The Queen's Gambit had a similar disclaimer, yet that didn't stop Georgian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili's lawsuit accusing the show of defaming her. Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, the defamation attorney who represents Gaprindashvili, says John C. McGinley's Jerry Buss breaking the fourth wall to speak positively about West -- “Jerry West, Head Coach of the Lakers, considered a true gentleman of the sport to everyone who does not know him" -- could be interpreted as the show depicting the real Lakers icon. “That would be a massive hurdle for the producers to overcome,” says Rufus-Isaacs. “When the screenwriter is being deposed, he’s going to have a very hard time denying that he meant for the audience to believe that he’s showing the real Jerry West. That’s a very good fact for West’s side and very bad for the producers.”

[–] juviejay (456) 2 years ago

I don't really have an impression of what Jerry West is like. I'm too young to have seen him play or coach. They show him once in a while and he seems happy. Why wouldn't he be?

I thought the portrayal of Magic (who always seemed like a "nice guy") was a bit rough. In fact, he seemed like a real jerk, conning us white folks and cheating on Cookie.

However, when they showed the sports caster talking directly to Cookie, it made think about Inglorious Basterds, and how at the beginning of the movie it says, "Once Upon a Time..." This was the justification for the totally false ending.

Anyway, i think the fact that Jim McCay is it? is talking directly to Cookie (and other instances of breaking the 4th wall) is meant to indicate that this can't be taken at face value. They even have a disclaimer at the end of each episode saying that accuracy was sacrificed for dramatic effect.

Given this, I don't think West has much of a case. Though I'm not a legal expert.

[–] Stratego (29537) 2 years ago

Every time Hollywood does this everyone uses the excuse of "artistic license". Why is it a problem now all of a sudden?

[–] [deleted] 10 months ago

These kinds of complaints aren't something new.

They are pretty common when Hollywood does something that's supposed to be "based on real events", especially with people who are depicted pretty negatively. I remember when "Rudy" was out, people were not happy about the way his college coach was depicted. They made him into a villain who treats Rudy badly to create some conflict and drama.

Winning Time is probably getting it worse because so many of the people involved are still alive, or people who knew them are, and a lot of them are being depicted in negative ways.

I mean, when you have Kareem Abdul Jabbar telling a ten year old actor to "fuck off" after they stop filming, it's not surprising he'd say something about it.

[–] Stratego (29537) 10 months ago

I didn't say complaints like that are new, but usually the response from Hollywood and the media is "artistic license!". This time they made a big hullabaloo over it.

[–] [deleted] 10 months ago

Yeah. I think the response is still artistic license, but a lot of people who are still alive are being depicted pretty negatively, so there's more pushback than usual.

Jerry West probably got the worst of it, but I"m only three episodes in. Maybe he shouldn't be too bothered, though. The show seems like it's taking a soap opera/comedy approach to the story. Most of the characters tend to go to extremes. After three episodes, nearly every character has acted like a bully or gone on a foul mouthed rage at some point.

Even Pat Riley's wife ignores a patient who is going through an emotional moment to swear at her husband because he went in the front door while she was working. She's supposed to be worried about seeming professional, but acts like that? Most of the people on the show have had moments like that.