Woman ‘abducted by aliens’ tries to block new Netflix series out today

A woman who claims that she was abducted by aliens is trying to block the release of a Netflix series about the incident, it’s been reported.

For decades, Linda Napolitano has claimed that she was abducted by extraterrestrials.

The alleged incident was said to have occurred on November 30 1989, when she was taken from her bedroom in Manhattan by three grey figures – and there were apparently around 20 people to witness her abduction.

In 1996, the late Budd Hopkins – who was an author and well-known ufologist who died in 2011 aged 80 – published a book called Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions, which detailed Napolitano’s story (in which she was referred to as Linda Cortile).

It was reported by United Press International in 1994 that Hopkins had taken notice of the case when he ‘said he received a letter from two security agents’ who witnessed the abduction, which included her ‘floating through an apartment window’.

Today, the docu-series The Manhattan Alien Abduction has been released on Netflix, consisting of three episodes, with the synopsis: ‘A credulous ufologist, his skeptical wife and a woman claiming she was abducted by aliens. This docuseries unravels their relationships to find the truth.’

Despite taking part in the programme, ahead of its launch, it emerged that Napolitano tried to block its release.

According to a lawsuit obtained by The Independent, the alleged abductee claimed that the docu-series was depicted as ‘a tale of skepticism’ and investigated her ‘pulling the wool’ over the eyes of author and ufologist Hopkins.

Speaking to the publication, Napolitano’s attorney Robert Young said that his client was ‘egregiously deceived’, and that she wouldn’t have taken part in the programme if she knew how her claims would have been portrayed.

‘Litigation is a long war, many battles, and I have every confidence that we will eventually prevail,’ he added.

In her complaint, which was filed on Monday in New York State Supreme Court, Napolitano reportedly alleged that Hopkins’ ex-wife defamed her in the Netflix docu-series.

Hopkins’ ex-wife, Carol Rainey, is also featured in Netflix’s The Manhattan Alien Abduction. Rainey died in September 2023 at the age of 74, an obituary announced.

In her complaint, Napolitano reportedly said that Hopkins’ ex-wife was ‘hell bent on revenge against her ex-husband’, and described the docu-series as her ‘last dying act of retribution to get even with her ex-husband, rather than exhibit the actual truth as investigated and written about… in Witnessed’.

In 2011, Rainey published an article in Paratopia, in which she wrote: ‘Although I’d often heard Budd’s assertion that Linda simply didn’t have the mental capacity to pull off this complex case as a hoax, I soon discovered that Linda was quite smart.’

It’s been reported that Napolitano wouldn’t have agreed to take part in the programme if she’d known that ‘false representations’ of her experience would be used, as she was said to have been under the impression that she was going to be taken more seriously.

According to The Independent, she is ‘claiming defamation and fraud, with punitive and exemplary damages to be determined in court’.

Her suit alleged that the conduct of the producers was ‘reckless, fraudulent, oppressive, and despicable’, and she also reportedly demanded that a judge issue a restraining order to prevent Netflix from releasing the docu-series, in addition to releasing any press releases or public statements explaining why.

Prior to the release of The Manhattan Alien Abduction on Netflix, Forbes reported that Napolitano, as well as the estate of late ufologist Hopkins, had filed a lawsuit against Netflix, Top Hat Productions and other people involved in the programme, including the estate of Hopkins’ late ex-wife Rainey.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Netflix, Story Films and Top Hat Productions for comment.

The Manhattan Alien Abduction is available to stream on Netflix.

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