After sharing her side of the story in a recent tell-all interview with Piers Morgan, the alleged real-life inspiration of Baby Reindeer has now sued Netflix for defamation.
Regarded by many as the “real” Martha of the hit Netflix series, the England-based Scottish attorney Fiona Harvey filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, alleging the show for inflicting emotional distress, negligence, and violating her right to privacy.
What Is “Baby Reindeer” About?
Written and starring Scottish writer and actor Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer was adapted from his 2019 one-man play of the same title. The fictionalized story was inspired by the events that Richard experienced, when an older woman began to stalk him for a period of time. At one point, the writer-actor recalled that the unnamed perpetrator had sent him “41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemail, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, 106 pages of letters, sleeping pills, a woolly hat, a pair of brand new boxer shorts and a cuddly reindeer toy.”
Similar to his real-life account, Baby Reindeer follows the struggling comedian and bartender Donny Dunn (played by Richard Gadd himself), who is later stalked by a woman named Martha (played by Jessica Gunning) after he shows her an act of kindness while on the job.
Despite Richard discouraging speculation about the real people that his work may have inspired, the show’s rise to public consciousness prompted viewers to locate the “real” Martha. Many led to the conclusion that she may be Fiona Harvey, a 58-year-old Scottish lawyer who claims she received death threats from Richard’s supporters.
Alleged Real-Life Martha of “Baby Reindeer” Sues Netflix for P10 Billion
In the lawsuit, Fiona stressed that the events depicted in the series didn’t happen in actuality.
“The lies that Defendants told about Harvey to over 50 million people worldwide include that Harvey is a twice-convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison, and that Harvey sexually assaulted Gadd,” the lawsuit read. “Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”
“As a result of Defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined. Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.”
The lawsuit seeks $170 million from the streaming service, which includes $50 million in actual damages, at least $50 million for “mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of business,” at least $50 million “for all profits from Baby Reindeer,” and at least $20 million in punitive damages.
While the series didn’t explicitly mention Fiona by name, the lawsuit says that the depiction of “Martha” was eerily close to Fiona’s real identity, leading to the ease of how internet users were able to deduce her involvement. Aside from Fiona’s searchable posts similar to Martha’s, the lawsuit states that they shared an “uncanny resemblance” and accent.
In response, Netflix released an official statement regarding the lawsuit. “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
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