Uh-oh. Looks like there’s trouble in the witchy world of Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The series used a statue of deity Baphomet, which just so happens to fall under a copyright claim from The Satanic Temple.
Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple, released a statement to CNN regarding the appropriation.
“The reason for this demand is that this particular imagery is unique from any other likeness of Baphomet. It was created by The Satanic Temple to represent its unique interests including empathy, bodily autonomy, and individual liberties…The way it is portrayed in ‘Sabrina’ is completely antithetical for what the Temple stands for. It was a copyrighted image and permission was never granted or requested by any media outlet. It is undeniable that this imagery was directly taken from The Satanic Temple rather than other source material.”
He also took to Twitter to voice his concerns:
Yes, we are taking legal action regarding #TheChillingAdventuresofSabrina appropriating our copyrighted monument design to promote their asinine Satanic Panic fiction.
— Lucien Greaves (@LucienGreaves) October 29, 2018
The church also aligns their copyright claim with allegations of appropriation and offense, drawing comparison to other religious groups.
I'm amazed that anybody is confused as to why we would seek legal remedy over Sabrina using our monument. Would they be as understanding of a fictional show that used a real mosque as the HQ of a terrorist cell? A fictional Blood Libel tale implicating real world Jews?
— Lucien Greaves (@LucienGreaves) October 29, 2018
As far as optics go, we gotta say, the comparison is pretty damning:
For purposes of comparison… pic.twitter.com/AZJvmq1Cks
— Lucien Greaves (@LucienGreaves) October 30, 2018
Though you’d be surprised what seemingly public domain media might actually belong to someone. The “Happy Birthday” song is perhaps the most high profile example. The famous celebratory ditty has netted some pretty hefty licensing fees for its rights owner, Warner Music.
Especially since the concept of Baphomet can be traced back to the 14th century and the Knights Templar. Many scholars even assert the name itself is an Old French pronunciation of Mohammed, referring to the prophet of Islam and portrayed through the lens of idolatry to demonize the then-new religion encroaching on Europe.
All in all, this is likely an honest mistake from the production not realizing the imagery is someone’s intellectual property versus an act of malice. Sort of like using a picture of Santa, and not realizing it’s specifically the Coca Cola Santa. The copyright claim is correct, but intent to appropriate? Probably not.
In case you’re totally entranced by Graves and the goings on of the Satanic Temple, you’re in luck. You can subscribe to his Patreon for all sorts of Satanic Temple content. The first season of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is now available on Netflix, with a second season on the way next year.