'The Crown' Gets 'Fictional Dramatization' Disclaimer Amid Season 5 Backlash
By Becca Longmire. Published: 21 Oct 2022 10:37 AM
"The Crown" season 5. — Keith Bernstein/Netflix
Netflix has added a disclaimer underneath the latest "The Crown" trailer following weeks of backlash ahead of the show's season 5 debut.
The caption reads, "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign."
The trailer has been watched almost three million times so far, after being released on Thursday.
READ MORE: The Royal Family Is In Crisis In New 'The Crown' Season 5 Trailer
Before now, Netflix would usually just include a description of the season ahead in the YouTube caption.
Judi Dench became the latest star to criticize the show this week, writing a letter to The Times.
Referencing former British PM John Major's comments about the show being "a barrel load of nonsense," Dench shared: "Sir John Major is not alone in his concerns that the latest series of 'The Crown' will present an inaccurate and hurtful account of history.
"Indeed, the closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism," the BBC reported.
Dench previously played Queen Victoria in 2017's "Victoria & Abdul", and in 1997's "Mrs Brown".
READ MORE: 'The Crown': Dominic West & Elizabeth Debicki On Recreating Charles & Diana's Explosive Divorce
A Netflix spokeswoman said in a statement: "The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events," Deadline reported.
"Series 5 is a fictional dramatization, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the Royal Family – one that has already been scrutinized and well documented by journalists, biographers and historians."
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