A lawyer representing Nick Ut, the AP photographer credited with the iconic “Napalm Girl” image that turned the tide of the Vietnam War, says he is facilitating a defamation lawsuit against the filmmakers of “The Stringer,” the Sundance documentary claiming that it was a local shooter who actually took the Pulitzer-winning image in 1972.
In a statement provided to TheWrap, James Hornstein, who is representing Ut pro-bono, says a third-party lawfirm is prepping the case against VII Foundation, whose documentary sets out to prove that the image was actually captured by Nguyen Thanh Nghe, a freelancer and a driver for NBC during the war.
Nghe, who said “I took the photo” during an audience Q&A after the film was screened in Park City, and former AP Saigon photo editor Carl Robinson are key figures in the documentary. Hornstein says Robinson has harbored a grudge against the AP for more than 50 years over his forced relocation and eventual firing by the news collective, and presented testimony from other eyewitnesses – many of whom have since died – attesting to Ut’s photo credit.
“A defamation action will soon be filed against the filmmakers to correct this outrageous decision by VII Foundation to provide Carl Robinson a platform for his 50-year vendetta,” Hornstein wrote in the statement. “Having waited 52 years to come forward, after the passing of virtually all the eye witnesses who would have disputed his claim, is the claim entitled to be believed? Our response is NO!!”
VII Foundation did not have an immediate statement regarding Hornstein’s assertions Wednesday night.
Hornstein also supplied a lengthy statement from Kim Phuc, the still-living girl in the photo, who says Ut took the photo – and also transported her and her then-5-year-old brother to a hospital that day when no one else would.
“I have been made aware that there is a film … embracing Carl Robinson’s mean and untrue claim that Nick Ut is not the man who took the Pulitzer photo known as ‘Napalm Girl,’” she writes. “It is the photo of me, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, a naked nine-year-old girl, running towards the camera … I have refused to participate in this outrageous and false attack on Nick Ut raised by Mr. Robinson over the past years and never responded to his email requesting that I talk with him. I hope he finds peace in his life.”
Phuc adds that she was in shock and her memory contains only “flitting images” of the harrowing moment, but relatives “have all verified to me they saw Nick, who was the only photojournalist who ran ahead towards me who took the photo. Additionally, my uncle was the person who begged Nick and his AP driver to take me to the nearest hospital … My uncle told me through the years that no one offered to take me and other burn victims since most wanted to head back to Saigon before dusk for fear of Vietcong ambush and gunfire attacks on the road. It was only Nick who agreed to my uncle’s pleas.”
Hornstein also supplied a letter-to-the-editor written in 1989 by NBC correspondent Arthur Lord and published by the Los Angeles Times three years before his death, calling Ut’s credit “well-deserved.” Lord was being driven on the day of the bombing by Nghe, who now claims credit for the photograph.
“Surely if Arthur Lord’s driver had taken the photo, he’d have known it and, as a fierce competitor with AP, he’d have put it forward,” Hornstein wrote. “Carl Robinson’s 50-year vendetta against Nick Ut [and the AP] is just not credible. His animus toward Nick and toward AP is well known and is well documented in his own book and his emails to others, copies of which I have.”
The panel following “The Stringer,” directed by Bao Nguyen, also featured Robinson, who said he’s carried the truth about who shot the image ever since its publication. “I didn’t want to die before this story came out,” he said.
The AP said Sunday that it was not able to speak with its former employee or Nguyen unrestricted, or review other relevant materials, but was open to doing so.
“We continue to reiterate what we have said all along – and said publicly last week: AP stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo. To do so, the filmmakers would have to lift the restriction they placed on all their contributors who signed non-disclosure agreements. … We cannot state more clearly that The Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a truthful history of this iconic photo.”
The post Nick Ut Lawyer Plans Defamation Lawsuit Against ‘The Stringer’ Filmmakers Over Napalm-Girl Photo Flap: ‘Just Not Credible’ appeared first on TheWrap.
