A lot has been said about Netflix’s recent crime drama series Inventing Anna. Though the series has received immense praise from viewers, and some critics, credibility is something that the series fails to offer. Many have called out the made-up plots and fake details from the series. Above all, there is one person who has been the most vocal about this, i.e., Rachel Williams. She recently called Inventing Anna a dangerous distortion.

Rachel previously voiced her opinion about the series as well. However, she is clearly not happy with the way the Netflix Original has depicted certain elements of the story, and the series especially disappointed her with its portrayal of her character. Now, Rachel sat down with her former employer and talked about her experiences and thoughts about the show.

Inventing Anna is a dangerous distortion, says Rachel Williams

“I think promoting this whole narrative and celebrating a sociopathic, narcissistic, proven criminal is wrong,” Rachel previously said about the show in an interview with Vanity Fair. She is one of those few people who saw Anna Sorokin aka Anna Delvey operate. Here is Williams’s reaction to the series and her portrayal in it.

When asked about how she felt about her portrayal in the series, Williams said, “I was caught off guard when Netflix announced its description of the character Rachel. To say a woman is someone else’s creation is counter to a feminist narrative. I looked at it and I was like, Really? That’s where you’re going to go with this?”

What else about the series bothers Williams?

When asked what bothers her the most about the series, Rachel Williams replied, “The show’s trying to straddle the divide between fact and fiction. I think that’s a particularly dangerous space, more than the true-crime medium because people sometimes believe what they see in entertainment more readily than what they see on the news. It’s the emotional connections to a narrative that form our beliefs. Also, hunger for this type of entertainment urges media companies to create more of it, incentivizing people like Anna and making [crime] seem like a viable career path.”

She was also asked if she has watched Inventing Anna, and if yes, how was her experience? Here is what she replied: “I haven’t watched the whole thing yet—I’ve been skimming. I started and was like, I’m not sure I have the stomach for this. I’ve seen enough of it to know my objections. Part of the reason I didn’t want to speak up [initially] was that I think people will want to couch my statements within the Rachel-vs.-Anna narrative. And I mean, yes, I am concerned about some very obvious, refutable factual inaccuracies.”

She further expressed disdain on the factual accuracy (or the lack thereof) in the show. Williams feels that with a disclaimer like “except for all the parts that aren’t,” the show’s fictional and refutable plot points will seem more believable to the masses. This, according to her, is a “really dangerous territory.“

Do you feel the concerns Rachel has about the show are justified? Let us know in the comments below.