A California judge refused Thursday to order YouTube to remove controversial footage from "Innocence of Muslims," the inflammatory film that sparked a U.S. backlash in the Middle East.

A woman who starred in the film, Cindy Lee Garcia, asked a Los Angeles County judge to take down the film because she said she was fired from her job, received death threats and was tricked into starring in the "hateful anti-Islamic production." The film has possibly led to the killing of J. Chrisopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya and about two dozen others the past week.

Garcia, of California, believed she would be starring in an Arabian desert adventure film, according to her suit. But the 14-minute YouTube trailer produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula of Southern California portrays a different story – one of which the prophet Muhammad seemingly engages in oral sex with Garcia's character.

The woman's lawyer, Chris Armenta, according to the Los Angeles Times, told Superior Court Judge Luis Lanvin that the dispute is "Not a First Amendment issue. This is an invasion of privacy issue." She said she would continue to press for the footage's removal.

It was an unusual request. The primary reason YouTube is asked to remove footage in the United States is because of copyright violations.

The judge, siding with Google, which owns YouTube, said Garcia is not likely to "prevail" on the merits of her lawsuit against Nakoula. Garcia claims he "intentionally concealed the purpose and content of the film."

The White House had asked YouTube to review the footage to ensure that it comported with the media giant's terms of service. YouTube did not remove it from U.S.-based viewers. However, YouTube has blocked the film in Egypt, Libya, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

Google, in response to the White House's bid, said the film was "clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube."