Netflix is being sued for defamation by Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey over Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer series; Harvey says she was the inspiration behind the show’s Martha character, who is depicted as an extreme stalker.
Harvey filed the lawsuit on Thursday in California federal court, alleging that Netflix has defamed her by portraying her as a twice-convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison for sexual assault, according to a report by Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix and Baby Reindeer showrunners “told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money,” the lawsuit reportedly states.
As Breitbart News reported, Baby Reindeer‘s Martha character, played by actress Jessica Gunning, was identified as Harvey by Internet sleuths.
In the show, Martha is depicted as a deranged and dangerous serial stalker who sends Gadd’s Donny character 41,000 emails, 350 voice messages, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, and 106 letters, as well as physically attacks his transgender partner.
Notably, Baby Reindeer begins with the disclaimer, “This is a true story,” rather than the more commonly-used phrase “Based on a true story,” meaning that Netflix and Gadd are unequivocally asserting that what has been depicted on screen exactly replicates everything that happened in real life.
Harvey, who is seeking injunctive relief and at least $120 million, including Netflix’s profits from the show, claims in her lawsuit that the streaming giant “did literally nothing” to confirm the statements in the show.
“It never investigated whether Harvey was convicted, a very serious misrepresentation of the facts,” the suit states. “It did nothing to understand the relationship between Gadd and Harvey, if any. It did nothing to determine whether other facts, including an assault, the alleged stalking or the conviction was accurate.”
In Baby Reindeer, Martha is a convicted criminal who spends five years in jail for stalking Donny. She also stalks a police officer and sexually assaults Donny in the show.
But Harvey maintains that she has never been convicted of any crime and claims she has never stalked or assaulted Gadd.
“Harvey’s real name wasn’t used in the series, which may prove an obstacle to substantiating defamation,” The Hollywood Reporter noted.
Notably, Netflix has also been sued by former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein over her portrayal in the miniseries When They See Us. Earlier this week, Fairstein and Netflix announced that they have settled the defamation suit.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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