Netflix Responds to Calls for ‘The Crown’ to Add a Disclaimer: “We Have No Plans and See No Need”
Netflix says it has “no plans” to put a disclaimer on The Crown.
Royal sources say that “Netflix has a duty to be up-front about its programming.”
Now that The Crown is slipping into verrry recent history and touching on some verrry sensitive subjects (read: Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s entire relationship), there are increased calls for the show to add a disclaimer reminding audiences that it is, in fact, fiction. Which I think most people get? But okay!
In response to disclaimer calls—including from UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden—Netflix gave the following pretty firm statement to The Guardian (via People):
“We have always presented The Crown as a drama and we have every confidence our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events. As a result, we have no plans, and see no need, to add a disclaimer.”
Dowden had previously mused, “It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that. Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”
Meanwhile, the British royals are reportedly less than thrilled about the show, with sources close to Prince Charles telling Vanity Fair, “Many royal historians and experts have dismissed it as fiction but Netflix is playing a dangerous game. They’re making money out of characterizing people who work hard for the nation. If people are using the series as a textbook for royal history, that’s troublesome. Netflix has a duty to be up-front about its programming and the producers should be more honest about what is fact and what is fiction. It’s not the first drama about a difficult chapter, but a bit more honesty on the program makers’ part about it being a drama wouldn’t go amiss.”
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