HIALEAH, Fla. (CBS12) — Hialeah’s mayor is slamming Netflix for a defamatory portrayal in Netflix’s The Rip, noting the film’s $24 million crime plot actually transpired in Miami Lakes.
The new Netflix movie stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and is inspired by a $24 million cash seizure that occurred in Miami Lakes in 2016, where stacks of cash were found hidden in buckets behind a concrete wall.
The film takes creative liberties, reimagining the events and relocating the home where the cash was found to Hialeah, and doing much of the filming in the city — a move the city’s mayor says unfairly tarnishes the city’s reputation.
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In a statement on Friday, Mayor Bryan Calvo wrote:
Hialeah is not a stereotype, and we are not unsafe. We are a proud, hardworking community and one of the safest large cities in Florida, based on published rankings. If any portrayal crosses the line into defamation or deliberate mischaracterization, we will explore every option available to defend Hialeah, including legal options if necessary.
According to Mayor Calvo, the move begins with a sign saying welcome to Hialeah riddled with bullet holes, a sign he says does not exist.
The film also centers around the Hialeah Police Department being corrupt, a storyline Hialeah Police Chief George Fuente says is strictly fictional.
“The real story of Hialeah is written every day by our officers through their actions, their service, and their commitment to this community,” Fuente told WSVN.
According to the mayor, the city’s lawyers are looking into whether legal action could be taken, but there is no word of a formal lawsuit yet.