Baby Reindeer creator clarifies Martha wasn’t Fiona Harvey amidst lawsuit 

Baby Reindeer, a dark comedy series created by and starring Richard Gadd, was released on Netflix on April 11, 2024. It has received critical acclaim and high viewership.

The show, partly influenced by Gadd's experiences as a comedian, tells the story of Donny, a dark stand-up comedian who becomes entangled in the obsession of Martha. Fiona Harvey, a real-life woman Gadd encountered in London, filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix on June 6, 2024, in Los Angeles federal court.

Donny Dunn works as a dark stand up comedian (Image via Netflix)

As per TV Line, Gadd has submitted a 21-page letter declaration of support for Netflix against the somplaint, coveying that Baby Reindeer is a completely fictional piece of work. It does not try to mimic any real events or people. If by any means it has hurt someone's beliefs or emotions that is completely coincidental.

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Fiona Harvey conveys her exasperation in being portrayed as Martha in Baby Reindeer

Martha starts getting obsessed on Donny (Image via Netflix)

Fiona Harvey is a Scottish woman who has charged a case against Netflix for portraying her in the negative role of Martha in Baby Reindeer. For breaking her privacy and personal defamation, she has charged Netflix, a sum of $ 170 million in a lawsuit.

In Baby Reindeer, Martha brings bad luck to Donny, a bartender in London, by becoming over-possessive, which escalates into harassment and s*xual assault. She sends him hundreds of letters, thousands of emails, and countless attacking tweets, even threatening his parents. Donny eventually reports her for defamation, stalking, and assault, leading to her nine-month imprisonment. The series also reveals Martha had previously been in prison for stalking and harassing other men.

Martha gets out of the cliff (Image via Netflix)

Harvey, though in her claims sues Gadd and Netflix for defaming her with the portrayal of Martha, but refuses to accept the crimes connected with the character. Harvey pleads herself innocent saying she has never assaulted Gadd in any way. According to her, Netflix added up additional lies into the story, to make it more persuasive for the audiences and make more money.

The pilot episode of Baby Reindeer opens up by saying the series is inspired by true stories. But when the credits go down, it clarifies saying all the names, events and locations have been fictionalized. Gladd claimed that none of their conversations have been put into the script of the film. But Harvey in her lawsuit mentioned that Netflix had used the exact tweets she had made back in 2014, in the series.

Harvey expressed her utter dismay saying ever since Baby Reindeer was aired on Netflix, the viewers of the show tracked her down and started giving her death threats.

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Richard Gadd showers support to Netflix

Donny starts hiding from Martha (Image via Netflix)

After Fiona Harvey's lawsuit against Netflix of $170 million got worldwide attention, the creator of the series Ricard Gadd opened up expressing his support for Netflix. Gadd came with the 21-page letter, delving into every complaint against the story of Baby Reindeer in detail.

As covered by TV Line, in the document Gadd clearly states that Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey. He writes,

“The series is a dramatic work,” Gadd claims on Page 3. “It is not a documentary or an attempt at realism. While the series is based on my life and real-life events and is, at its core, emotionally true, it is not a beat-by-beat recounting of the events and emotions I experienced as they transpired. It is fictionalized, and is not intended to portray actual facts."

Richard Gadd conveyed that he wrote Baby Reindeer, keeping the essence of his past experiences alive. But nowhere does he build a connection of the fictional world, to the real one.

The Netflix series mini-series got major critical success after its release with 11 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Richard Gadd received worldwide appreciation for writing and acting in this dark comedy, with nominations 2 two Prime Time Awards.

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Baby Reindeer is available for streaming on Netflix. Follow us for the latest news and updates on Baby Reindeer along with other movies and TV shows on Netflix.