Jordan Peele, who won an Oscar for taking on racism with the film Get Out, will now target domestic abuse with a documentary on Lorena Bobbitt.
Amazon announced the director, writer and comedian will be executive producer on the series, which will challenge the “long-held narrative” surrounding Bobbitt, who cut off her then-husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis.
She was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1993 after having argued he abused her.
Peele, who won the best original screenplay Academy Award, said: “When we hear the name Bobbitt we think of one of the most sensational incidents to ever be catapulted into a full-blown media spectacle.
“With this project, Lorena has a platform to tell her truth as well as engage in a critical conversation about gender dynamics, abuse, and her demand for justice. This is Lorena’s story and we’re honoured to help her tell it.”
The “groundbreaking re-investigation”, titled Lorena, will be a four-part documentary series on how the event created “sensationalistic” media coverage in a time of 24-hour news, Amazon said.
“Lost in the tabloid coverage and jokes was the opportunity for a national discussion on domestic and sexual assault in America,” Amazon said in a statement.
The series, which does not yet have a release date, will be directed by Joshua Rofe, the producer of Lost For Life, a documentary about youngsters serving life in prison.
Bobbitt, then 24, was cleared by a jury in 1994 of malicious wounding after she used a kitchen knife to cleave off the penis of her ex-Marine husband, then 26, in their home in Manassas, Virginia.
She told a court she was raped after her husband came home from a night of drinking with a friend.