The bodyguard of The Tinder Swindler subject Simon Leviev has issued Netflix with a cease and desist letter.
Leviev featured prominently in the documentary as having conned several women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, while his bodyguard Piotr was often seen alongside him.
The bodyguard’s attorney Joanna Parafianowicz has now reached out to Netflix to demand they pull The Tinder Swindler from the streaming platform altogether, claiming it frames Piotr as complicit in Leviev’s crimes (via TMZ).
Parafianowicz has also asked Netflix to publish an official apology to Peter, who has asked for roughly £4.1million in financial compensation.
“No one has the right to deprive a person of basic rights, such as the right to image and the right to the protection of personal data,” Parafianowicz recently told LADbible.
“The movie doesn’t tell my client’s story, and it must be underlined – no charges have been ever brought against him regarding this case. He’s never been involved in Simon’s businesses. However, by many viewers, he’s being associated with Simon Leviev’s behaviour.”
She added: “Netflix’s production neither have asked my client for permission to publish his image nor for his comment on the case. As a result of the unexpected movie publication and its immediate popularity, my client lost anonymity within just one day, the ability to work as a bodyguard, probably forever, as well as his reputation.
“Piotr is in a bad mental state now. We both believe that even such a giant like Netflix cannot violate basic human rights.”
Leviev recently said he believes the women in the documentary “weren’t conned”.
“I’m not this monster,” Leviev, real name Shimon Yehuda Hayut, said of the claims in The Tinder Swindler. “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder.”
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