Solène Delinger
modified to
1:01 p.m., June 7, 2024
The British Fiona Harvey, who claims to have inspired the character of Martha in the series “My Little Reindeer” available on Netflix, is filing a complaint for defamation against the streaming platform. She is seeking $170 million in damages.
Series My little reindeer has not finished making headlines… Three months after making the whole world shiver, the show inspired by the true story of Richard Gadd finds itself at the heart of a major controversy. Fiona Harvey, the British woman who inspired the character of Martha, Richard Gadd’s stalker, didn’t really like the way she was portrayed in the series.
A complaint for “defamation and intentional emotional distress”
In My little reindeer, Martha sends thousands of messages to Donny aka Richard Gadd, who plays himself. She follows him everywhere, camps out in front of his house, threatens his girlfriend and her parents. An episode of the series also shows her sexually assaulting Richard Gadd’s character. Fiona Harvey assures her: she was never guilty of all these acts. Shocked by the series, the Briton decided to file a complaint against Netflix for “defamation, negligence, intentional emotional distress and violation of image rights”. She denounces “brutal lies” peddled about her, and which harm her image.
Netflix will “vigorously defend” Richard Gadd
According to Fiona Harvey, the indication “true story” in the series “is a lie told by Netflix and the creator of the series out of greed and thirst for fame. A lie designed to attract more viewers, make more money.” Richard Gadd’s alleged harasser is seeking no less than $170 million in damages. Netflix has already reacted to the announcement of Fiona’s complaint. “We intend to vigorously defend this case and defend Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story,” said the representative of the streaming platform. To be continued…