Tory peer Lord Forsyth condemns Netflix for refusing to warn viewers The Crown is fiction
- Lord Forsyth today waded into the row between Netflix and Oliver Dowden
- The former cabinet minister said Netflix should be brought to heel by Ofcom
- Viewers have criticised The Crown’s fourth season for depiction of monarchy
A Conservative peer has accused Netflix of arrogance for refusing to put a fiction disclaimer on The Crown.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean today waded into the row between the Government and the streaming site over its portrayal of the Royal Family.
The former cabinet minister said Netflix should be brought to heel by Ofcom to stop it airing ‘poisonous and mendacious’ content as fact.
Viewers have criticised The Crown for its depiction of the monarchy, particularly Prince Charles’s tumultuous marriage to Princess Diana.
Last week Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that Netflix should make clear to viewers the show is fiction.
He said: ‘I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.’
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean today waded into the row between the Government and the streaming site over its portrayal of the Royal Family
But Netflix responded: ‘We have always presented The Crown as a drama – and we have every confidence our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events.
‘As a result we have no plans – and see no need – to add a disclaimer.’
At Lord’s question time today, Lord Forsyth said via video link: ‘Now that Netflix has arrogantly rejected the secretary of state’s excellent request to make clear at the start of every programme that The Crown is a work of fiction, what action does the Government propose to take to ensure that Netflix is regulated by Ofcom and is not free to present poisonous and mendacious material as fact?’
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport minister Baroness Barran said Mr Dowden had made his views ‘extremely clear’ about the latest series of The Crown.
Lady Barran said one positive outcome was that Netflix had made a statement in the public domain which acknowledged ‘this is indeed a fictionalised account’.
Viewers have criticised The Crown for its depiction of the monarchy, particularly Prince Charles’s tumultuous marriage to Princess Diana (Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin pictured)
She added: ‘We are hopeful Netflix will reflect on this for future programmes to make sure that they serve their viewers to best effect.’
The hugely popular fourth season of The Crown started streaming on Netflix last month.
Much of it chronicles the breakdown of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage, including screaming matches between the couple.
Yet a recent poll found that audience perception of the royals had not suffered as a result of the show.
It came as Ofcom suggested that streaming sites such as Netflix could receive taxpayer funding to do public service broadcasting.
Netflix did not immediately respond to MailOnline’s request to comment.