Photographer Who Took Award-winning ‘napalm Girl’ Photo Sues Netflix Over Doc Claim

The photographer down 1 of nan most iconic images of nan Vietnam War is suing Netflix and nan makers of a documentary that claims he did not return nan photo.

Photojournalist Nick Ut has agelong been credited pinch taking a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a naked young woman fleeing a napalm attack, titled “The Terror of War.”

Ut said successful tribunal documents revenge successful France past week that nan Netflix film, The Stringer, had damaged his estimation aft it claimed that freelance photographer Nguyen Thanh Nghe was really down nan well-known image.

“These accusations onslaught astatine nan very halfway of who I am,” Ut said successful a statement. “ My full profession has been built connected telling nan truth, often astatine awesome individual risk.”

Ut was 21 and employed by nan Associated Press erstwhile he took nan award-winning photograph. He is seeking $116,000 successful damages and $23,000 successful ineligible costs, according to nan New York Times.

The iconic image of nine-year-old Kim Phuc, which was taken connected 8 June 1972, shows her moving down a thoroughfare successful Trang Bang, South Vietnam, arsenic she flees an American napalm attack.

Debate complete nan photograph’s root began successful January 2025, erstwhile The Stringer premiered astatine nan Sundance Film Festival. While Ut had agelong been credited arsenic nan photographer, The Stringer suggested that nan photo’s existent creator was Nghe, a Vietnamese freelance photographer.

Nghe claims he was moving arsenic a driver for an NBC news unit erstwhile he visited nan municipality of Trang Bang and took nan image. In nan film, he said he sold nan image to AP for $20 and was fixed a people of nan photograph successful exchange. Nghe said nan memento was later destroyed by his wife.

The film, led by Gary Knight, a journalist and laminitis of nan VII Foundation, which supports photojournalism, investigates these claims and later concludes that Ut did not return nan photograph — a declare some AP and Ut deny.

Lawyers for Ut asked Netflix past autumn not to administer nan film, according to nan Times. The suit claimed nan film's accusations “go acold beyond nan acceptable scope of journalistic investigation” and propose “fraudulent and disloyal behavior” by Ut.

James Hornstein, a lawyer for Ut, said successful a connection that his customer brought nan action “to take sides his reputation, and not for financial gain,” adding that Ut plans to donate immoderate grant for damages to charity.

The World Press Photo Foundation conducted its ain investigation and said successful May that 2 different photojournalists “may person been amended positioned to return nan photograph than Nick Ut. Ut’s in installments for nan image was suspended, but different photographer was not credited for nan shot.

The AP besides ran its ain investigation, but said it would proceed to in installments Ut for nan photograph.

“We near thing uncovered that we're alert of and we've done it pinch a awesome woody of respect to everybody involved,” said Derl McCrudden, an AP vice president who heads world news production.

“It makes nary quality to america if we changed nan credit, but it has to beryllium based connected facts and evidence. And location is nary definitive grounds proving that Nick Ut did not return this picture.”

According to nan documentary, nan photograph’s main subject, Kim Phuc Phan Thi, has nary representation of nan infinitesimal that was captured.

“She states that eyewitnesses, including her uncle, told her that it was Nick Ut who took nan photo, and took her to nan hospital,” title cards astatine nan extremity of nan documentary read. “She still believes that.”