Incident details
- Date of incident
- October 24, 2024
- Location
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Targets
- Jessica Pressler (New York)
- Legal orders
-
-
subpoena
for
testimony about confidential source
- Oct. 24, 2024: Pending
- Dec. 19, 2024: Carried out
-
subpoena
for
testimony about confidential source
- Legal order target
- Journalist
- Legal order venue
- Federal
Subpoena/Legal Order
A portion of a subpoena sent to New York magazine staff writer Jessica Pressler on Oct. 24, 2024, ordering her to testify in connection with a defamation lawsuit against Netflix.
Journalist Jessica Pressler was subpoenaed on Oct. 24, 2024, to testify as part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, against Netflix.
Formerly a contributing editor at New York magazine, Pressler wrote an article in 2018 on Anna Sorokin, a high society grifter who posed as a German heiress named Anna Delvey and was convicted of conning hotels and banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The piece went viral online and, in 2022, Netflix released the miniseries “Inventing Anna” based on the article, having hired Pressler to consult on its production.
Rachel DeLoache Williams, a former friend of Sorokin, then sued Netflix for defamation and false light invasion of privacy for her unflattering portrayal in the series, in which she was identified by full name and with real biographical information.
Attorneys representing Williams first subpoenaed Pressler in December 2023, requesting all of the journalist’s communications with the series’ producers concerning Williams and her portrayal, writers’ room notes for seven of the nine episodes, and any research on her in connection with the development of the series.
Both Pressler and Netflix objected to the subpoena, citing New York reporter’s privilege, but turned over documents in response, redacting sources’ names and identifying information, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
In October 2024, Williams subpoenaed Pressler again, this time to testify in a deposition scheduled for Dec. 19.
An attorney for Williams confirmed to the Tracker in November 2025 that Pressler was deposed, although he would not confirm the date or topics covered during her testimony. Pressler’s attorney did not respond to a request for further information. The Tracker is therefore marking the date on which the subpoena was carried out as the originally scheduled date of the subpoena.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
