Nyad: The Real-Life Controversy Behind Annette Bening's Netflix Movie Explained

Netflix's "Nyad" captures the true-life story of competitive swimmer Diana Nyad (Annette Bening), who tried to cut through the briny blue from Cuba to Florida four times before succeeding in 2013. Nyad performed with the help of her coach and best friend, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster). The swim became a lifelong mission for Nyad, who was 64 when she completed the task. But the Netflix film apparently skips portions of this complex story of the real woman — whose record remains in question by several official athletic bodies.

An August 2023 article from the Los Angeles Times depicts the very real effort Nyad put into her swimming career. She allegedly suffered through everything from jellyfish stings to unfriendly weather conditions to make it to Florida alive. But in the aftermath of her swim, The World Of Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) failed to recognize the validity of her work in September 2023 after releasing an in-depth report on the topic in December 2022. It found that Nyad's journey could not be ratified by them due to the fact that she had not followed their guidelines. 

While her achievement had been previously noted by The Guinness Book of World Records, it has since been removed from their online listing. Nyad admitted to the Los Angeles Times in August that while she may have inflated some claims made about her achievements, what happened during her Cuban swim was real. "Am I embarrassed to have inflated my own record when my record is pretty good on its own? Yes, it makes me cringe," she said at the time.

While she continues to attract controversy, the producers for "Nyad" continue to stand behind their real-life heroine.

Diana Nyad has continued to be a controversial figure in the open water swimming community; WOWSA released an article declaiming the validity of "Nyad" before its release in August 2023. In the release, the organization claims Nyad made up her own rules for the Cuba-to-Florida swim, that Steven Munatones — the organization's former leader and founder — acted as a consultant for the film but is no longer affiliated with them, and that it remains unable to ratify Nyad's swim as there is insufficient data. The organization claims she promised to deliver this data but never did. Nyad, meanwhile, continues to maintain the validity of her swim.

The crew behind "Nyad" are more than willing to stand behind their real-life subject. Co-producer Jimmy Chin told Vanity Fair in August 2023 that they examined the claims against their subject and found them to be false. "I'm just a little tired of the internet trying to tear down a woman who's complicated and outspoken and owns who she is," co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi told the magazine. 

"Nyad" is currently streaming on Netflix.