Satanists Sue Netflix, Claim 'Sabrina' Ripped Off Their Statue

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — These entertainment companies are feeling the wrath of satanists.

The Satanic Temple is suing Netflix and Warner Brothers for $150 million, alleging copyright violations of its winged, goat-headed statue that appears in "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" series, according to court documents filed in Manhattan district court.

The group, which is based in Salem, Mass., says its copyrighted statue design, known as "Baphomet with Children," appeared in the new streaming series without its permission and charges the media giants with committing copyright infringement, violating its trademark and injuring the organization's business reputation, court documents show.

"Among other things, TST [the Satanic Temple] designed and commissioned the TST Baphomet with Children to be a central part of its efforts to promote First Amendment values of separation of church and state and equal protection," the complaint reads.

"Defendants' prominent use of this symbol as the central focal point of the school associated with evil, cannibalism and murder blurs and tarnishes the TST Baphomet with Children as a mark of TST."

The religious group said it reached out to Netflix and Warner Bros. asking they remove the statue from the series when they became aware of it, but said its request went unanswered.

Netflix referred Patch's request for comment to Warner Bros., which declined to comment.

Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves tweeted images of the group's statue beside the show's depiction this week "for purposes of comparison."

The group's statue of Baphomet was made famous by a 2014 Indiegogo campaign that sought to install the figure next to the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

It made headlines again in August when it briefly appeared outside of the Arkansas State Capital to protest a Ten Commandments monument that had been installed there.

The temple — and other groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union — panned the move as a violation of the separation of church and state.

Temple members argue that Netflix and Warner Bros. have twisted the group's tenets, which say it stands for "compassion and empathy" and the "struggle for justice," among other principles, according to its website.

The group hopes for redress in a trail by jury.

The Satanic Temple unveiled its statue of Baphomet at a rally for the first amendment in Little Rock, Ark. on Aug. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Hannah Grabenstein)