Netflix is under fire after a YouTube creator filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the streaming platform and two production companies of stealing his original interview with Rex Heuermann — the Long Island architect now charged in the notorious Gilgo Beach serial killings.
The suit, lodged in Manhattan federal court by Antoine Amira, alleges copyright infringement, claiming Netflix used segments of his February 2022 interview with Heuermann without permission in its March-released documentary series Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer.
The Heart of the Claim
Amira, who runs the YouTube channel Bonjour Realty, said his one-on-one video is the only known recording where Heuermann openly discussed his personal life and career before his 2023 arrest. The interview, which became one of Amira’s most-watched uploads, was “shamelessly plastered” throughout the Netflix documentary, according to the complaint.
“Unlike other networks and outlets that reached out to license plaintiff’s work, defendants chose to simply copy it — without paying plaintiff a dime,” the lawsuit states.
Amira’s lawyer, Armin Ghiam of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, said the unauthorized use devalues the work:
“Our client’s original interview was copied without authorization or compensation. Its use after Mr. Heuermann became a household name substantially undermines its value.”
