The Satanic Temple is suing Netflix and studio Warner Bros. over the “misappropriated” use of the statue of Baphomet featured on the streamer’s new series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” starring Kiernan Shipka as the titular half mortal, half witch teenager.
TST is claiming copyright infringement, trademark violation and injury to business reputation, asking for a total of at least $50 million in damages, according to court documents filed in New York on Thursday, obtained by TheWrap.
“Defendants misappropriated the TST Baphomet Children in ways implying that the monument stands for evil. Among other morally repugnant actions, the Sabrina Series’ evil antagonists engage in cannibalism and forced-worship of a patriarchal deity,” the lawsuit states.
TST claims the Baphomet statue is featured in four of the show’s 10 Season 1 episodes, and a “key element” in the finale. In the filing, TST says they notified the streamer and studio of their copyright violation claim last month when the show launched on Netflix, but got no response.
The statue appears on the Netflix series while Sabrina attends the Academy of Unseen Arts, a magical school that teaches the way of the Dark Lord aka the show’s version of Satan.
You can see a shot of the monument — placed inside the fictional academy — below:
Per the lawsuit, “TST seeks, among other things, a permanent injunction barring Defendants from reproducing and distributing the Sabrina Series utilizing images of the TST Baphomet with Children, and TST submits that absent the relief requested herein, Defendants will continue to willfully infringe TST’s copyright, trademark and common law rights.”
The filing comes one week after Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves took to Twitter to threaten “legal action” against Netflix for “appropriating our copyrighted monument design to promote their asinine Satanic Panic fiction.”
Greaves said in a statement to TheWrap last Tuesday that “we’ve sent [Netflix] a letter from our lawyers informing them of the copyright violation, asking them to take our imagery out of their show.”
In an interview with SFGate published last week, Greaves said, “It’s deeply problematic to us. [But] even if that wasn’t the case we’d be obligated to make a copyright claim because that’s how copyright works.”
Warner Bros declined TheWrap’s request for comment on the pending litigation, and Netflix forwarded our request to a Warner Bros representative.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' Season 1 Photos: Check Out Harvey Kinkle, Aunt Zelda and More
Get ready for a deep-dive look at the residents of Greendale. Netflix released new character photos for "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" this week, making us even more excited for the series to arrive than the trailer did.
See below for Netflix's official character descriptions. "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" premieres on Oct. 26 on Netflix.
Netflix
Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch) is Sabrina’s boyfriend. The prince charming of this dark fairy tale, Harvey is the son of a coal miner, a dreamboat and a dreamer, completely unaware of the dark forces conspiring to keep him and Sabrina apart.
Netflix
Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka): An empowered young woman, half-human, half-witch, Sabrina is just beginning her dark education as a sorceress, even as she tries to maintain a normal life as a sophomore at Baxter High. Intelligent, compassionate and brave to the point of recklessness, Sabrina is all that stands between us and the forces of darkness that threaten our world. Pictured with Lachlan Watson (as Susie Putnam), Jaz Sinclair (as Rosalind Walker) and Ross Lynch (as Harvey Kinkle).
Netflix
The Weird Sisters: Agatha (Adeline Rudolph), Prudence (Tati Gabrielle), Dorcas (Abigail Cowen): The three Weird Sisters—a trio of powerful, uncanny teenage witches at the Academy of Unseen Arts who look down their noses at Sabrina for being half-mortal.
Netflix
Hilda Spellman (Lucy Davis) is one of Sabrina’s two witch aunts. More nurturing than Zelda, Hilda’s motherly nature and warm sense of humor belie a wicked, ghoulish streak. She is as adept at brewing spite jars against her family’s enemies as she is at concocting love potions for the students at Baxter High.
Netflix
Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle) is High Priest of the Church of Night and Dean of the Academy of the Unseen Arts. Ruthless and ambitious, Blackwood hides a terrifying dark agenda that will put him in direct conflict with Sabrina and other members of the coven.
Netflix
Zelda Spellman (Miranda Otto) is Sabrina’s sterner witch aunt. Proud and devout, Zelda believes there is no greater honor than serving the Dark Lord as a member of the Church of Night. She is the family’s disciplinarian, fiercely protective of Sabrina, and very much Cain to Hilda’s Abel.
Netflix
Nicholas Scratch (Gavin Leatherwood) is a young, handsome warlock at the Academy of Unseen Arts who befriends new student Sabrina Spellman. An acolyte of Sabrina’s father’s teachings, Nicholas is drawn to Sabrina, as well, and there are immediate sparks between them.
Netflix
Sabrina's friends, Rosalind Walker (Jaz Sinclair) and Susie Putnam (Lachlan Watson): Rosalind is the brash, empowered and outspoken daughter of Greendale's minister and Sabrina's best friend at Baxter High. Susie Putnam is one of Sabrina’s friends at Baxter High and a founding member of the school’s newly formed WICCA club. Brave and optimistic despite being bullied at school, Susie lives on a farm at the outskirts of town and deals with a terrifying supernatural threat at home.
Netflix
Mary Wardell / Madam Satan (Michelle Gomez) is Sabrina’s favorite teacher and mentor at Baxter High. When she is possessed by the Devil’s handmaiden, Madam Satan, Ms. Wardwell turns into a sultry, cunning manipulator, always trying to lure Sabrina down the Path of Night.
Netflix
Ambrose Spellman (Chance Perdomo) is Sabrina’s warlock cousin from England. Placed under house-arrest by the Witches Council, Ambrose is forbidden from leaving the funeral home where he lives with the Spellman women. Witty, puckish and pan-sexual, he is one of Sabrina’s partners in crime, always up for mischief.
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Netflix also releases images of Aunt Hilda and Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose
Get ready for a deep-dive look at the residents of Greendale. Netflix released new character photos for "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" this week, making us even more excited for the series to arrive than the trailer did.
See below for Netflix's official character descriptions. "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" premieres on Oct. 26 on Netflix.