Kentucky man sues Netflix for putting his ‘picture up with a murderer’ in true crime doc

A Kentucky man is seeking $1 million from Netflix, alleging in a lawsuit they used his likeness in a true-crime documentary and defamed him.

Taylor Hazlewood, a 27-year-old respiratory therapist who lives in Kentucky, is suing Netflix for defamation after they used a personal picture of him holding a hatchet in a 2023 documentary “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker,” according to his lawsuit, which was filed in a Texas court.

An Instagram picture of Hazlewood is shown in the documentary with audio that says “stone-cold killer,” with text captions which say “You can never trust anyone,” according to the lawsuit.

Hazlewood’s image is shown alongside pictures of Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, a hitchhiker made infamous after he was convicted of the murder of Joseph Galfy — who the film centers around.

Netflix released the true crime story about McGillvary on Jan. 12. It tells the story of McGillvary’s viral fame, being convicted of murder, and being sentenced to prison.

Hazlewood has zero connection to McGillvary or his crimes, but was depicted alongside the man convicted of murder twice in the show, according to the lawsuit.

Hazlewood took the picture with the hatchet in June 2019 while spending time with a friend, according to court documents. He saw the hatchet, which reminded him of his favorite childhood book, “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen. He decided to take a picture and post it to his personal social media.

“Without any reason, other than pure recklessness, Netflix misappropriated the Hazlewood photograph and used it in two separate parts of the film,” the lawsuit said.

After the documentary’s release, Hazlewood received dozens of texts from friends, former employers, and family who alerted him to his picture was being used.

“They put your picture up with a murderer, lol,” a former coworker from Ohio told Hazlewood.

The lawsuit said Hazlewood “did not understand the implications” of his photo being used at first.

“But after receiving many more questions about his involvement with the film, and watching the film himself, Hazlewood became aware of how damaging this unauthorized publicity was,” court records state.

He is suing Netflix for defamation and misappropriation of likeness or right of publicity. Hazlewood is seeking $1 million in damages.

“The harm that Netflix caused to Hazlewood has been extraordinary,” the complaint reads. “The film has been viewed by tens of thousands of people, and as a result of Netflix’s false portrayal of him as, dangerous, as a murderer, and/or as an untrustworthy person, he has been subjected to personal distress, anguish and reputational harm.”

Who is Caleb McGillvary?

McGillvary, also known as Kai the Hitchhiker, became famous after an interview with a Fresno, California, TV outlet describing an attack against a man with a hatchet in February 2013.

In the interview, McGillvary said he was riding in the passenger seat of someone else’s vehicle when the driver hit a pedestrian and pinned the pedestrian against a truck. When a bystander tried to help, the driver attacked her, according to McGillvary’s original interview with KMPH FOX26 News.

McGillvary said he attacked the driver with a hatchet to save the bystander, according to the interview, which features explicit language.

That same year, McGillvary was arrested on murder charges in relation to the death of 73-year-old Joseph Galfy, a New Jersey attorney. He claimed he killed Galfy in self-defense because Galfy drugged and raped him after he offered him a place to stay.

McGillvary was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2019, and is currently serving 57 years in prison, according to the Fresno Bee.

Despite being the main character of the Netflix documentary, McGillvary is also suing the company. He alleges they are “ruthlessly exploiting a hero’s life story for money,” according to the Fresno Bee.

Netflix is named as one of dozens of defendants who McGillvary claims stole intellectual property, interfered with business dealings and stripped him “of his heroic title for their own selfish gain.”