Peruvian-American actress QʼOrianca Kilcher has filed a lawsuit against director James Cameron and the Walt Disney Company, accusing them of using her appearance to create the character Neytiri in the Avatar franchise without her permission.
Variety and The Guardian write about this.
The lawsuit alleges that Cameron used Kilcherʼs facial features after seeing her in a Los Angeles Times advertisement for Terrence Malickʼs film "The New World," in which the actress played Pocahontas. She was 14 years old at the time.
The plaintiff claims that the director “pulled out her facial features” and instructed a design team to create Neytiri’s look based on them. Neytiri herself is played by Zoe Saldana in the films.
A statement from Kilcherʼs lawyers says the franchise, which positioned itself as supporting Indigenous peoples, "secretly exploited a real Indigenous girl".
Kilcher also names Lightstorm Entertainment and several visual effects companies in the lawsuit.
Corianna Kilcher in the movie "The New World"
The actress also said that she only learned about the extent of the use of her appearance after a video of Cameronʼs interview went viral on social media. In it, the director, showing a sketch of Neytiri, says: "The inspiration for this was a photo in the LA Times, a young actress named Qʼorianca Kilcher. This is actually her, her lower face. She had a very interesting face."
According to Kilcher, in 2009, after the release of the first Avatar, Cameron gave her a signed sketch of Neytiri and a note that said: "Your beauty was my early inspiration for Neytiri. Too bad you were in another movie. Next time."
The actressʼs lawyers called the directorʼs actions "not inspiration, but appropriation" and said he used the biometric facial features of a 14-year-old girl to create a multi-billion dollar franchise without her consent or compensation.
Now the actress is demanding damages and fines, confiscation of profits derived from the use of her image, a court order prohibiting further use, and public recognition of the fact that her appearance was exploited.
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