Real Baby Reindeer Martha sues Netflix for $17Om
June 7, 2024
Netflix, behind the surprise breakout hit series Baby Reindeer, has been sued by the ‘real’ Martha for $170 million (€156.8m) with claims of negligence, defamation and distress.
In the show, prominently billed as a ‘true story’ Richard Gadd recounts his stalking by the Martha character who, the show claims was sentenced for stalking someone else. Jessica Gunning stars as that alleged stalker, Martha, who the world learned is Fiona Harvey, a Scottish lawyer – who was consequently involved in a high-profile interview with Piers Morgan. Harvey has filed in California.
“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. Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money,” the heavily illustrated 34-page complaint alleges.
“We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story,” responded Netflix.
Reported to have achieved around 60 million views in its first month on Netflix, Baby Reindeer won the Breakthrough Limited Series award at the Gotham TV Awards.