Well, we all knew this was coming. Fiona Harvey, the woman claiming to be the “real Martha” from Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, is suing the streaming service for monetary damages worth up to $170 million. According to Variety, the public suit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Her lawyers claim that the series contains “brutal lies” about her.
For those who haven’t watched the sleeper-hit Netflix dramedy series, Baby Reindeer is the story of a comedian who is harassed by a relentless stalker. The show is inspired by creator Richard Gadd’s real-life experiences, including trauma, psychological torture, and even sexual abuse. Gadd also plays himself on the Netflix series and claims that everything audiences see is “emotionally 100% true.” As he told Variety, “It’s all borrowed from instances that happened to me and real people that I met.”
One of those “real people” is his alleged stalker, who is named Martha on Baby Reindeer and played by Jessica Gunning. After the show aired, Internet sleuths tracked down the “real Martha”: Fiona Harvey, forcing the woman to speak out publicly about the allegations against her. She appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored—of all shows—and decided to share her side of the story.
During their conversation, Harvey denied stalking Gadd. She confirmed that she did meet him while he was working as a bartender (as depicted on Baby Reindeer) but that she only saw some similarities between herself and Baby Reindeer’s Martha. She also revealed that she planned to take legal action against him and Netflix, claiming that the forty thousand emails and the sexual assault didn’t happen. “I don’t think I sent him anything,” she said. “There may have been a couple of emails, jokey banter, but that’s it.”
It gets weirder. Harvey spent an unusually long time trying to explain away minor details in her interview. At one point, she insisted that she paid for her drink when she and Gadd first met. Later, when Morgan aired a clip of Gadd and Gunning promoting Baby Reindeer, Harvey fixated on her voice, claiming that she didn’t sound Scottish. She also said Gadd is “psychotic” and “obsessed” with her, telling Morgan she felt it was necessary to clear her name. “The Internet sleuths tracked me down and hounded me and gave me death threats. So it wasn’t really a choice.”
Now Harvey has made the lawsuit a reality. According to Variety, she’s seeking at least $50 million in damages as well as an additional $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. Her lawyers stated, “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,” her complaint says. “Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”
Netflix quickly responded to the suit, adding, “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.” According to the lawsuit, Gadd is not named as a defendant in Harvey’s suit—only Netflix.
When the show found an immense level of popularity, Gadd asked fans to lay off. “People I love, have worked with, and admire…are unfairly getting caught up in speculation,” he wrote. “Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of the show.” Unfortunately, it’s too late for that—but even Harvey wants a break from the drama. When Morgan asked if she had any words for Gadd, she replied, “Leave me alone, please. Get a life. Get a proper job.”
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