Netflix gets chilled by exonerated ‘Varsity Blues’ dad

An exonerated Varsity Blues dad is fighting back.

John Wilson has just won a court battle with Netflix. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court refused to dismiss his defamation suit against the video streaming giant.

The fair report privilege is at play, with Netflix claiming it is protected by the legal precedent in airing the 2021 documentary “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal.”

A single justice of the SJC wrote the argument to drop the case wasn’t strong enough.

“The motion to dismiss is DENIED,” the ruling states, adding that the arguments to toss are too weak at this “stage” in the blockbuster lawsuit.

“I applaud the Massachusetts Superior Court. This decision marks a turning point in how we view media responsibility, especially Big Media,” said William Charles Tanenbaum, lead attorney for the Wilsons. “The court has made it clear that Netflix, and, by extension, other Big Media companies, cannot simply insulate themselves by claiming the fair report privilege when they knowingly misrepresent facts and cause harm to individuals.”

Netflix directed all comments to corporate contacts who could not immediately be reached for comment.

Wilson, of Lynnfield, and his son, Johnny, filed the complaint in Barnstable Superior Court alleging the entertainment company and its producers defamed them in the documentary.

Federal prosecutors alleged and convicted Wilson on a charge that he paid more than $1.2 million to secure his children’s admissions to elite universities — Harvard University, the University of Southern California, and Stanford University — as athletic recruits.

But the Wilsons and Tanenbaum say none of Netflix’s depictions of the family are accurate and that the company “rushed” the production of the documentary, “poisoning public opinion and the jury pool months before Mr. Wilson’s trial even began.”

Wilson in February 2022 was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 15 months in prison — the largest penalty leveled in the case that swept up at least 50 defendants, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and former “Full House” star Lori Laughlin.

Last May, the First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Wilson’s admissions scam conviction. Months later, the prison sentencing was replaced by a year of probation involving a single tax-related charge that Wilson faced.

Wilson’s legal team is alleged to have provided Netflix a 450-plus page “written warning”  before the documentary’s publication outlining the concerns the family had about the film, suggesting the company avoid “guilt-by-association or including any falsehoods.”

“Netflix willingly chose to group my highly qualified children and me into a scandal involving celebrities who, unlike me, pled guilty and acknowledged their roles in shameful actions like photoshopping images of fake athletes, cheating on tests and making bribe payments to coaches,” Wilson said in a statement.

His son, according to court papers, was both an excellent student and water polo player who earned his place at USC legitimately.

“Viewers could reasonably interpret” the documentary suggested otherwise. This case continues.