Hit series “Reindeer Baby”
The “real Martha” has filed a lawsuit against Netflix
Jessica Gunning plays the character Martha in “Baby Reindeer”.
© Ed Miller/Netflix
A woman who claims that the series “Baby Reindeer” destroyed her life and reputation has now sued the streaming service Netflix.
A Scottish woman who claims to be the inspiration for Richard Gadd’s (35) Netflix hit series “Baby Reindeer” has sued the streaming service. According to the US industry magazine “Variety”, Fiona Harvey is demanding damages of at least 170 million dollars. She is suing the international streaming service for alleged defamation, negligence and intentional infliction of mental cruelty, among other things.
Does “Baby Reindeer” on Netflix tell “brutal lies” about the “real Martha”?
Harvey further states in her complaint, which was filed in California on Thursday (June 6)that she is not a “twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison” and that she did not “sexually abuse” series lead actor Gadd. Both are central to the Netflix series “Baby Reindeer”. The streaming service has “told over 50 million people worldwide lies about Harvey”. Series creator and lead actor Gadd is not listed as a defendant in Harvey’s lawsuit.
The document continues: “As a result of Defendants’ lies and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life was ruined. Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.”
More than $170 million in damages
Series creator Gadd had said in interviews that he had protected the identity of the “real Martha” in “Baby Reindeer” well. But after the Netflix production became a huge success in April of this year, internet sleuths quickly found Harvey’s social media accounts, which frequently interacted with Gadd during the time in which the series is set. Even some of the terms used in the series could be found here. The series character is also a lawyer, like the real Harvey.
The lawsuit therefore states: “Identifying Harvey as ‘Martha’ was easy and took only a few days because Harvey’s identity was completely unmasked.”
In addition, Netflix has “literally done nothing to confirm the ‘true story’ that Gadd told.” At the beginning of “Baby Reindeer” it says that the series tells a “true story.”
Series creator Gadd had said in an interview, from which the British “Daily Mirror” quotessaid: “It’s very emotionally true. I was severely stalked and abused.”
In her lawsuit, Fiona Harvey is demanding “more than $170 million from Netflix, including at least $50 million in actual damages, at least $50 million in damages for ’emotional 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,” Variety summarizes the lawsuit’s claims for damages.