'Griselda' Series Spurs Lawsuit Against Sofía Vergara and Netflix From Late Drug Lord’s Estate

Sofía Vergara and Netflix are both named in a lawsuit from the estate of the late drug lord Griselda Blanco targeting the upcoming release of the streamer’s Griselda series.

Per TMZ, Blanco’s famely, namely her adult children on behalf of the estate, are hoping a judge will give them an injunction to bar the series’ Jan. 25 release on the platform. Their argument? According to the report, they allege the series marks an example of their images and likenesses being used without proper authorization, despite the fact that Blanco was indeed a public figure. 

Blanco, also known as the Cocaine Godmother and/or the Black Widow, is portrayed in the six-episode series by Vergara, who’s an executive producer. The real-life Blanco was fatally shot in a motorcycle drive-by shooting in Medellín in 2012. She was 69.

Blanco’s son alleges he’s been the subject of a series of interviews starting way back in 2009, further claiming that those conducting the discussion had plans of their own to later turn these conversations into both a series and a book. Furthermore, the family says this project was discussed with a producer, prior to a Netflix meeting.

In short, the family is alleging that Netflix’s Griselda series, also starring Juliana Aidén Martinez and Martín Rodríguez, pulls from those conversations without him being compensated.

Complex has reached out to reps for Vergara and Netflix for comment on the newly reported lawsuit. This story may be updated.

In a previously released statement on the series, Vergara, whose 2024 slate also includes the visual companion to Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me...Now album, said she was “thrilled” to partner with Netflix on the project.

“Griselda Blanco was a larger-than-life character whose ruthless but ingenious tactics allowed her to rule a billion dollar empire years before many of the most notorious male kingpins we know so much about,” she said when the series was first announced back in 2021.

Directing all six episodes of the limited series is Andrés Baiz, whose prior credits include Narcos and The Sandman, both of which were also released by Netflix.