Baby Reindeer’s Real-Life Martha Sues Netflix, Demands $170 Million in Damages

Following up on her promise to sue Netflix for defamation, the real-life Martha, who inspired the hit TV show Baby Reindeer, issuing the streamer for $170 million, seeking monetary compensation for the damage she has suffered after her horrific representation on the show. Per Variety, Fiona Harvey, who alleges she’s the real-life inspiration behind the “stalker” of Richard Gadd, has taken every public platform to voice her concerns about the character based on her.

But now she’s taken a step further in seeking retribution for the “emotional distress” the show has caused her. While Harvey doesn’t precisely deny everything the show depicted, the lawsuit implies the show has gone on to add “brutal lies” for the purpose of bringing a tru-ish story to life.

Baby Reindeer (2024)

4.5/5

A seemingly innocent interaction with a customer turns into a chaotic journey as the life of aspiring comedian Donny spirals out of control and brings up the past. 

Release Date

April 11, 2024

Cast

Richard Gadd , Jessica Gunning , Danny Kirrane , Nava Mau

The document filed reflects the following: “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of Harvey’s right of publicity, arising out of the brutal lies Defendants told about her in the television series, Baby Reindeer. 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.” The lawsuit includes a very interesting comment regarding the risks about labeling the story as “true”:

“Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”

Netflix and Gadd have remained silent about the lawsuit, but an official response will likely come soon. The official document can be viewed here.

Baby Reindeer: Bending the Truth for Marketing Purposes?

The Netflix sensation Baby Reindeer is based on Gadd’s one-man play, and it premiered on April 11. Quickly, it became one of the streamer’s most popular shows of the year. In the show, Gadd, who also writes the show, plays Donny Dunn, a stand-up comedian trying to make it big in the business while gaining his daily bread as a bartender. It’s there where he meets a customer called Martha, and he “sins” by being nice to her. Martha misunderstood the friendly bartender’s attitude and immediately began stalking him.

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What could have turned into an anecdote suddenly becomes a distressing situation of an obsessive stalker sending dozens of emails every day, and harassing Dunn’s girlfriend and family. His journey makes him open up about a secret past of abuse that he needs to leave behind, but Martha’s omnipotent presence gets to the point where he must seek the help of law enforcement.

It’s at this point where the show obviously takes some liberties and where Netflix could have questioned the “true story” label of Gadd’s script. According to Netflix, they did their best to disguise the real-life characters, but Harvey coming out and claiming she is the real Martha didn’t exactly help. Whoever didn’t see a lawsuit coming (for whatever purpose) has not been aware of the media frenzy.