The woman believed to be the real-life Martha in the hit series "Baby Reindeer" is suing Netflix for defamation and negligence. Now, the streaming giant's creator is defending the series.
"We will defend this case with great force and stand up for Richard Gadd's right to tell his story," says a spokesperson for the company to Deadline.
According to the complaint filed by the real-life Martha, Fiona Harvey, she denies many of the actions attributed to the character in the series and is seeking $1.76 billion in damages from Netflix. The complaint was filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, USA.
Richard Gadd created and stars in the autobiographical series "Baby Reindeer". The show is about a failed comedian who works at a bar, where he meets the woman Martha, who becomes obsessed with him.
Despite Gadd's warnings to viewers not to speculate about the real-life Martha, Fiona Harvey was quickly identified as his stalker.
In an interview with Piers Morgan in May 2024, Harvey confirmed that the character was based on her, but denied allegations that she had stalked Gadd.
In the complaint, Harvey alleges that Netflix's inadequate masking made "the way clear" for people to identify her, which has led to her being bombarded with harassment from people all over the world.
