A woman claiming to be the inspiration behind the character Martha Scott in “Baby Reindeer” has reportedly filed a $170 million (around 10 billion in Philippine pesos) lawsuit against Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
Reports say the lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California. The alleged real-life Martha Scott accused Netflix of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of her right to publicity.
“Baby Reindeer,” a dark comedy created by Scottish actor and writer Richard Gadd, was released in April 2024 and is said to be based on a true story. Richard Gadd’s statement to The Guardian goes: “It’s very emotionally true, obviously: I was severely stalked and severely abused. But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on.” Gadd also mentioned that the thrilling Netflix series hit was “tweaked slightly to create dramatic climaxes”.
Despite Richard Gadd and Netflix having reportedly gone to “such great lengths” to disguise the real Martha Scott “that she wouldn’t even recognize herself,” internet sleuths were able to identify her as Fiona Harvey. In the Piers Morgan Uncensored episode titled “Richard Gadd is PSYCHOTIC” Baby Reindeer’s ‘Real’ Martha Fiona Harvey, Fiona Harvey herself confirmed the speculations “because she wants to have a right to reply” but denies being a stalker.
Fiona Harvey (alleged real-life Martha Scott)’s lawsuit against Netflix states:
“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. Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”
“Netflix, a multi-national billion dollar entertainment streaming company did literally nothing to confirm the ‘true story’ that Gadd told. That is, it never investigated whether Harvey was convicted, a very serious misrepresentation of the facts. It did nothing to understand the relationship between Gadd and Harvey, if any … As a result of Defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined. Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.”
The woman seeks at least $50 million (around P3 billion) for actual damages, at least $50 million (around P3 billion) in compensatory damages for “mental anguish, loss of enjoyment and loss of business”, at least $50 million (around P3 billion) for “all profits from ‘Baby Reindeer’”, and $20 million (around P1 billion) for punitive damages.
A Netflix spokesperson has reportedly addressed the matter, saying, “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
