Levitated Linda Sues Netflix over New Documentary!

Netflix has a new three-part documentary in regards to the 1989 “Manhattan Alien Abduction” of Linda Napolitano. (Initially the incident was referred to as “The Brooklyn Bridge Abduction,” however that introduced up connotations of swindlers who reportedly would attempt to promote naive immigrants the Brooklyn Bridge.) “A lady claims to have been kidnapped from her bed room in Manhattan. This docuseries explores whether or not it was an elaborate hoax — or proof of alien life.”

I used to be going to put in writing a evaluate saying one thing like this: 

Here’s a UFO documentary that’s extra sincere than most of them. It examines the UFO abduction claims of Manhattan resident Linda Napolitano (who typically used the pseudonym “Cortile”). Her story is preposterous for a lot of causes, however famed UFO abductionist Budd Hopkins (1931-2011) was completely satisfied it was real. This documentary sequence is best than most UFO-themed ones as a result of it considers the proof each for and towards Linda’s claims, even when it does lean considerably towards accepting the weird claims as genuine.

However I put that concept out of my head after I noticed that  the star, Linda, is suing Netflix! Holy Moley! ‘UFO abductions’ have been out of style for a lot of years now; they peaked within the Nineties and are seldom mentioned severely at the moment. If something, Linda owes Netflix a debt of gratitude for respiration new life into her virtually moribund case.

Netflix exhibits Linda being levitated out her residence window and into the UFO.

Budd Hopkins was a acknowledged chief amongst UFO abductionists, In June, 1992, an invitation-only  “abduction study conference” was held at MIT, beneath the school sponsorship of physicist David E. Pritchard. I attended, together with a lot of main UFOlogists: John Mack, David M. Jacobs, Bruce Maccabee, and so on. The justification of the convention was, apparently, that those that “uncover” supposed alien abductions utilizing hypnosis had constructed up ample confidence that their collection of alien abduction evidence was now strong enough to convince the world. Even MIT!

So it was at this convention that Budd Hopkins first offered to the world what he known as “a very powerful UFO abduction case that I’ve ever labored on.” What is exclusive in regards to the supposed abduction of Linda “Cortile” is the declare that it was independently witnessed by not less than 4 different individuals, together with two detectives watching from the bottom under. Supposedly they gazed in astonishment because the UFO, with Linda now on board, soared up above the rooftops of Manhattan, then plunged into the East River close to the Brooklyn Bridge, on which it allegedly brought about a number of vehicles to stall. Linda subsequently reported nostril bleeds, and an X-ray appears to point out an implant in her nostril.

Budd Hopkins married Carol Rainey (1949-2023) in 1996. Carol was a documentary movie maker specializing in science-related documentaries. (With the advantage of hindsight, that marriage was doomed from the beginning, as science and Budd Hopkins did not combine).

A lady claims to have been kidnapped from her bed room in Manhattan. This docuseries explores whether or not it was an elaborate hoax — or proof of alien life.

 As Shivangi Sinha explains in Cinemaholic,

Initially, Carol Rainey believed Linda Napolitano’s story and noticed her husband, Budd Hopkins, as he guided Linda via hypnosis periods to retrieve recollections of her alleged alien abduction. Nevertheless, over time, Carol’s doubts started to develop, and she or he more and more questioned the validity of Linda’s account. She felt Linda’s story is perhaps exaggerated and started scrutinizing the proof extra carefully. Carol investigated witness accounts associated to Linda’s expertise however discovered them inconsistent and missing in credibility. She additionally suspected that a few of the letters Linda had offered as proof had been fabricated. This skepticism ultimately prolonged to Budd’s strategy, and Carol brazenly critiqued his investigative strategies. She expressed issues that Budd might have ignored inconsistencies in Linda’s story, main her to query his objectivity in documenting and publicizing the case. Her stance, which grew to become more and more vocal, led to tensions of their skilled and private relationship.

However it will get worse. Carol assisted Budd in enhancing his ebook in regards to the case, Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction (1997). This ebook just isn’t typically obtainable at the moment, other than a couple of very costly used copies, but it can be read in the Internet Archive Library. It’s 400 pages of a preposterous, meandering story that anybody with half a mind will instantly acknowledge as fiction. As Carol wrote later,

It was extremely dramatic, paced like a thriller— stuffed with otherworldly treachery, forbidden love, UFOs over Manhattan, twenty-two witnesses, a heroine whose crimson blood cells had been immortal, lusty and harmful Secret Service brokers, a Prince from afar, items of many fur coats, chases on foot, extra forbidden love, an X-rayed alien implant, Linda’s abduction right into a spacecraft accompanied by an vital world chief, her abduction right into a spacecraft with different members of Budd’s abductee assist group, and her abduction right into a spacecraft accompanied by a well-known Mafia don. Then, later, because the story continued to unfold (lengthy after the ebook’s publication), Linda’s presence within the foyer of the World Commerce Middle when the planes hit and her bloody, barefoot escape over shards of glass. Though…not all of these occasions reported above by Linda Cortile had been chosen by Budd for inclusion within the ebook.  I knew about them, however they weren’t within the ebook.

Worse but, Hopkins “continued to tout the main significance of the case lengthy after he knew that Linda had lied to him on a number of events,” in response to Rainey.  Right here is a good summary of the controversies surrounding this case. 

Carol additionally wrote in that very same piece:

Leslie Kean had begun her exploration of UFO abduction by allegedly vetting the Linda Cortile case (from Hopkins’ ebook Witnessed). After doing her personal evaluate of supply materials and interviewing each Budd and Linda, she concluded that it was a sound, well-researched case.

Kean quickly grew to become a disciple on the toes of Budd Hopkins.

As
the Dean of UFO Skeptics, Philip J. Klass, mentioned to me (I wrote this
all the way down to share with with Carol Rainey), “Each time I noticed Budd
Hopkins he was surrounded by a bunch of lovely abductee ladies. And
the ‘Queen Bee’ of all of them was Linda Napolitano. If I had been to change
over to the ‘different aspect,’ perhaps I may very well be surrounded by ladies the way in which
that he’s.” Klass has a protracted dialogue of Levitated Linda’s case in
his Skeptics’ UFO Newsletter #22, July 1993, in addition to in a number of different points. My very own commentary, based mostly on every thing I’ve seen about this case: the erotic attraction between Budd and Linda was too apparent to disregard.

Budd and Carol

 “On Oct. 28, 2024, two days before the Netflix documentary’s planned release, Napolitano filed a complaint in New York against Netflix, in addition to numerous people and manufacturing corporations concerned within the documentary, plus the property of Carol Rainey.

Napolitano filed the grievance together with two different plaintiffs: Peter Robbins, a former colleague and good friend of Hopkins, and the property of Budd Hopkins. Robbins can also be included within the documentary.”

Having seen the numerous, many absurdities being promoted on this case, and
provided that the pro-Linda aspect is given not less than as a lot promotion and
respect as Carol’s skepticism, on what grounds might Linda presumably sue
Netflix over this?

“In accordance with the grievance, Napolitano and Rainey are falsely pitted towards one another.

“(Napolitano) was not remotely near be like or seem as the individual that is on display screen, by no means had any bone to choose with Carol Rainey,” the grievance reads, “however was arrange as such a villain for functions of controversy and battle, all of which was a patently and intentionally false portrayal to assist the false narrative of the reality.”

Napolitano’s legal professional, Robert Younger, advised TODAY.com in a telephone name on Oct. 30 that she and Robbins really feel they had been “egregiously deceived” by the documentary’s producers.

“They’d have by no means entered into any manufacturing or description of what occurred to Linda that was going to be questioned and topic to such denigration and aspersions towards their good names and character,” he mentioned. “They’re not completely satisfied.”  “

Should you can sue to cease the discharge of a documentary on the grounds that the events portrayed in it are “not completely satisfied,” then no documentaries on any controversial topic might ever be made!