The Woman Allegedly Inspiring the Character Martha from the Hit Drama “Baby Reindeer” Plans to Sue
Published: 2 hours ago
‘Baby Reindeer’ Character Inspires Legal Action against Netflix and Show’s Creator
The woman accused of inspiring the character known as Martha in the critically acclaimed drama “Baby Reindeer” announced her plans to sue Netflix as well as Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, who wrote and starred in the show. During an interview with Piers Morgan, Fiona Harvey asserted that the portrayal of the character as a stalker was a “work of fiction”. Harvey labeled the depiction as “defamatory” and accused the creators of lying about the story. Both Gadd and Netflix have been contacted for comment regarding the legal action.
Ms. Harvey, a 58-year-old Scot, revealed in the interview that the public’s attempt to identify the character was “absolutely horrendous”. She also accused Gadd of profiting from her “misery”. In response to the interview, some critics argue that the existence of a market for such discussions is the true cause for concern.
In a separate email, Ed Power, writing for The Telegraph, described the conversation between Piers Morgan and Fiona Harvey as uninspiring, resembling a tedious Q&A session.
Regarding the interview, Piers Morgan questioned Harvey about the substantial volume of emails, calls, and letters she was accused of sending to Gadd. The comedian stated that his alleged stalker had bombarded him with over 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, and 106 pages of letters. In response, Harvey acknowledged that there may have been a couple of emails, but she later claimed the number was less than 10. Harvey denied sending any Facebook messages, harassing Gadd’s family, or visiting his house, asserting that she is not a stalker.
Furthermore, Harvey dismissed the scenes in “Baby Reindeer” that alleged she sexually assaulted Gadd, violently attacked his partner, or that depicted her pleading guilty to stalking charges and serving a jail sentence. She emphasized that these scenes were fictional and damaging to her personal and professional life.
Public’s Fascination and Netflix’s Stance
Given the immense popularity of the sleeper hit series “Baby Reindeer”, many viewers have been enchanted and disturbed by its storyline. The fascination with unraveling the real-life identities of characters led Richard Gadd to post a personal plea on Instagram urging fans not to speculate about the real individuals behind the show.
During a recent parliament hearing in the UK, Benjamin King, a Netflix policy chief, stated that the streaming giant had taken proper precautions to protect the identities of the people who inspired Gadd’s work. He clarified that although they did not anonymize the characters to preserve the authenticity of the story, controlling viewers’ actions and speculations in the age of social media remains challenging for any platform.
