The woman who claims to be the real-life inspiration for Baby reindeerMartha’s serial stalker character is suing Netflix for $170 million, alleging defamation.
Fiona Harvey filed the lawsuit on June 6 in California, alleging that the streaming service and series star and creator Richard Gadd told the “biggest lie in the history of television” by classifying the show as a “true story.” . She is also suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violation of her right to publicity, claiming she “cannot leave the house.”
“The lies Defendants told about Harvey to more than 50 million people around the world include that Harvey is a twice-convicted stalker sentenced to five years in prison and that Harvey sexually abused Gadd,” the woman’s lawsuit says. Scottish.
Harvey claims that Netflix and Gadd told “brutal lies” because they were motivated “to attract more viewers” and “make more money,” as well as to “cruelly destroy” Harvey’s life “on an unprecedented magnitude and scale.”
A Netflix spokesperson told Yahoo Entertainment in a statement: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and defend Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
The seven-episode series is considered a “true story” by both Netflix and Gadd. The film adaptation is based on the British actor’s one-man show of the same name, which tells the story of a struggling comedian (Gadd) who is stalked and terrorized by a woman named Martha (Jessica Gunning).
Since its premiere on April 11, the show has garnered more than 80 million views worldwide.
On April 26th, Daily Mail published an anonymous interview with Harvey. On May 9, she came out in an interview with Piers Morgan, during which she denied harassing Gadd and threatened to sue Netflix and the creator for defamation. After the interview, Morgan said he felt Harvey was not being honest about certain facts in the interview.
Harvey’s interview brought to light the implications of adapting true stories, especially when the real-life people involved object to the way they are portrayed.
What happens in the series?
A down-on-his-luck comedian, Donny Dunn (Gadd), is working in a London bar when a patron named Martha becomes obsessed with him. Giving Donny the nickname “Baby Reindeer,” she begins emailing, texting, and leaving threatening voicemails that terrorize him and his family. Donny soon discovers that Martha is not the successful lawyer he claims to be, but rather a criminal who has already served prison time for stalking victims in the past.
Gadd says the story is ’emotionally true’
On a interview with the Guardian, Gadd said all the events were “emotionally true. …I was severely persecuted and abused.” But he added that the series’ timelines, names and certain storylines have been “slightly tweaked” for dramatic effect.
Gadd alleges that Harvey sent more than 41,000 emails, left about 350 hours of voicemails and wrote him hundreds of social posts. The events are believed to have taken place between 2013 and 2017, based on timelines he has referenced over the years since first staging the one-man show in 2019.
Harvey says it’s mostly made up
In her interview with Morgan, Harvey said that any implication that she stalked Gadd is “simply not true.” She claims she “never” contacted him by phone and sent “less than 10” emails.
“I’m not a stalker. I haven’t been to prison; I have no injunctions,” Harvey told Morgan, saying that neither Netflix nor Gadd spoke to her before the series’ release. She has also threatened to sue for defamation and claims she is the target of online hate because of her portrayal on the show.
Yahoo Entertainment was unable to reach Harvey for comment.
Netflix’s protection standards are questioned
Soon after Baby reindeer premiered in April, Internet sleuths falsely accused TV writer Sean Foley of being the inspiration for the character Darrien, a real-life sexual abuser portrayed in Tom Goodman-Hill’s series. Later, Gadd took to social media to post a request to fans: “Please do not speculate about who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show.”
On May 8, Benjamin King, Netflix’s senior director of public policy in the UK and Ireland, addressed the British Parliament at a hearing with its Culture, Media and Sport Committee about the company’s standards of protection, saying the company and production company Clerkenwell Films took “all reasonable precautions to disguise the real-life identities of the people involved in this story.”
He added that Baby reindeer is “obviously a true story of the horrific abuse” suffered by Gadd.
Does Harvey have an affair?
When Harvey first threatened to sue, legal experts weighed his chances. She will have to prove that Netflix knowingly distributed lies about her on the show — but the streamer has a strong counterargument, experts said.
“Netflix could argue that no one would have understood that the series was about [Harvey] until she came forward and revealed herself,” Los Angeles defamation lawyer Jeff Lewis he told Yahoo. “Netflix can argue that it hurt itself or at least failed to mitigate the damage by turning to Piers Morgan.”
Texas Lawyer Brian Beckcom believes Harvey has a “much better chance” of winning a libel case in the UK than in the US.
“The First Amendment to the Constitution protects free speech in the US and the UK does not have a similar constitutional rule,” he said. “In the US, to win a defamation case, you have to prove that what the other person said was false, they knew it and said it anyway, on purpose. In the United Kingdom, on the other hand, the person publishing the statement must prove that it was true or based on a good faith belief.”
No second season expected
Shortly before the lawsuit was filed, Gadd was asked at the June 4 Gotham TV Awards about a potential second season of the show.
“I think Baby reindeer It’s done,” he replied. “I’m really proud of it and I’m really proud of how it ends. It felt very complete to me. … I always saw it as something unique. I always reserve a 1% of ‘never say never’, but I really think it’s best to leave it where it is.”
Updated June 7, 2024, 1:50 pm ET: This story has been updated to reflect that Fiona Harvey has filed a lawsuit against Netflix for $170 million.
